


Days and Nights

by minty_ships



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: But Not Much, Fluff, M/M, maybe a dash of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-09-18 19:40:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 26,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20318425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minty_ships/pseuds/minty_ships
Summary: A collection of oneshots centred around Nico di Angelo and Will Solace as their relationship develops.





	1. Poison

Nico knew he was in trouble the second his vison began to turn black.

Up until that point, he’d been able to convince himself that his injury was nothing more than a bad cut, and he could just walk into the infirmary and grab some bandages. He was only half way there when his eyes first failed him, and he stumbled forward, pressing a hand to his suddenly pounding head. His other arm was wrapped tight around his midriff where the gashes in his side were throbbing blood and pain.

_Just a bit further,_ he reminded himself, taking another step. _You’re nearly there, just a few more steps. _

He managed to make it a few more feet forward before his legs gave out, sending him crashing to the ground. He managed to catch himself on his hands and knees, but he could feel his limbs shaking in exhaustion. The rough dirt and twigs stabbed painfully into his bare palms, and his sword felt ten times heavier wrapped around his waist.

_Focus. _He opened his eyes, and tried to look through the darkness – he could see the ground, the roots of a nearby tree, it’s shadow – _shadow_.

He dredged up the last bit of energy he had and reached out, plunging his hand into the darkness, concentrating as hard as he could manage. A second later, he was falling through the darkness, before being spat out into a blinding light that made him wince and squeeze his eyes shut again.

“Nico?!” Yelled somebody nearby, and he felt someone catching his shoulder and rolling him onto his back. The movement made him let out a soft hiss as pain lashed up his side. “Oh, _gods. _Somebody get Will! He’s- He’s really badly injured.”

Someone said something too quietly for him to hear, and then the girl spoke again, her voice still carrying the same loud tone of urgency. “_Can_ you? Nobody’ll care- Carter! Help me get him to a bed.”

Nico felt hands reaching under him to lift him up, but he couldn’t even muster the energy to care. The pain _everywhere_ peaked and he finally blacked out for real.

#

Nico screwed his eyes up against the bright light when he came to. The pain in his side had faded somewhat, and he guessed he’s been given something for that.

“Nico?”

Even barely conscious, that voice sent his heart racing. He hoped no one had hooked him up to a heart monitor this time.

He opened his eyes to meet a pair of electric blue ones. Will’s face was so close, he could feel the other boys breath on his cheeks.

“_Will_.” He managed to force down the heat that had rushed to his face.

“Sorry.” Will pulled back a little. “I forgot about the whole ‘personal space’ thing. How are you feeling?”

“Fine.”

“How are you feeling without _lying_?” Will folded his arms. “You nearly _died, _Nico. You’re not _fine._”

Nico flinched. Once, the idea of him dying hadn’t bothered him – it was really just returning to his fathers kingdom for the last time, after all. But now he had someone he wanted to stay alive for – someone who wanted him to stay alive – and he still wasn’t quite used to it.

“Fuzzy,” he said, honestly. “I feel fuzzy.”

“That’s to be expected – we had to sedate you, you were in that much pain. Morphine.” Will gave him a look that clearly said ‘we didn’t have a choice’ (he knew how much Nico hated being sedated) but Nico just nodded in response. He’d already guessed as much. “Are you going to tell me what happened?” Prompted the blonde, raising an eyebrow and leaning forward to rest his head on his hands, propped up on the bed. Nico moved to sit up a little more, ignoring the ache it caused.

“I was walking Mrs O’Leary and we got attacked.” Nico explained. “I killed it, but-“

“It got a few good swipes in first.” Finished Will, easily. “I saw. We patched up your side, but it’s going to take a while to heal, even with unicorn drought. Do you mind if I take a blood sample?”

“Can’t you just do a reading?”

“That would tell me your symptoms, not the cause, or how to treat it.”

“In that case, sure, I guess.”

“I appreciate the enthusiasm.” Will grinned at him, grabbing a band and taking Nico arm. As he tightened the tourniquet, Nico couldn’t help but wince. “Is that too tight?” Asked Will, looking concerned.

“No,” said Nico immediately, because it didn’t feel any tighter than it usually did, but for some reason him arm ached around it.

When Will injected the needle into his elbow, Nico couldn’t help but jump from a combination of pain and surprise. He’d gotten more blood tests than he would’ve like to admit, but needles never usually bothered him. For some reason, this time to felt like being stabbed.

“You okay?” Asked Will, furrowing his brows.

“Yep.”

“Didn’t we go over the lying thing?” Will pulled the needle smoothly out and pulled off the tourniquet with his free hand.

“I _am_ okay.” Nico muttered, rubbing his arm. “It just- hurt more than usual, that’s all.”

He watched as Will turned to the desk and started dropping to blood onto something that he couldn’t see. He tried to shuffle into a more comfortable position, which made him ache again, and tried to suppress a moan, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Got it!” Said Will, and Nico opened his eyes again to look over at his grinning face. “It’s annenalgesia.”

“_What_?”

“Anee-nal-ga-sia.” He repeated slowly. “It’s a poison, it targets your nociceptors to lower your pain tolerance and make you more vulnerable.”

“Sounds great.” Said Nico, who had no idea what a nociceptor was.

“It _is_ great. Uh, excessive pain aside, of course.” Will flashed him a somewhat awkward and adorable grin. “We have the cure here.” He turned to the shelves of medicine bottles and, after a second of scanning, grabbed one of the highest shelf. “Here.” He poured it into the cap and held it out. “This should flush the poison out of your body over the next twenty-four hours.”

Nico downed it in one, and winced. “That’s disgusting.”

“Medicine always is.” Agreed Will, taking the cap back. “You’ll have to stay here overnight. Is that okay?”

_Yes_. “Maybe.” Replied Nico, vaguely. Will grinned at him, and held out his hand.

“Can I?”

Nico let him take his wrist. He was glad that he’d managed to get enough control over the butterflies that resurrected in his stomach that he didn’t get too flustered just by the simple contact anymore.

“You’re tired,” Will concluded. “You should try and get to sleep, you’ve been through a lot. Besides, that medicine’s going to make you sleepy.”

“Sure.” Said Nico, shifting back into a lying down position. “How long was I out before?”

“Three hours and thirty-seven minutes,” recited Will, then blushed. “Roughly.”

Nico smiled grudgingly. Will had noticed him doing that a lot more often recently, which was nice. He liked it when Nico smiled.

“I’ll wait here for you to fall asleep.” He said, a little quickly, and then shifted awkwardly. “Y’know, to keep an eye on you. The medicine shouldn’t kick in for an hour, anyway.”

“Sure.” Said Nico, trying not to sound too happy about it as he shifted onto his side, facing Will. It eased the pressure on his injured side, too, which helped. Will settled into the chair opposite, looking completely casual. “I’m sorry to drag you away from- whatever you were doing earlier.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Will reassured him. “It was just a meeting of the head councillors.”

“Oh, I forgot about that.” Hummed Nico.

“You always forget about them.”

“They’re always pointless. Unless there’s some massive quest going on.”

“True,” agreed Will, “which is why it’s not a big deal for me to be dragged away. You owe me cheez whiz, though.”

“I can buy you cheez whiz,” mumbled Nico, who was starting to fall asleep.

“Great. I’ll take that as my payment for nursing you back to health.”

Nico made a soft sound in response and shut his eyes, trying to ignore the soft pain in his side. After a few minutes of silence, he finally drifted off to sleep.

Will leaned over and gently tucked the blanket over the other boys shoulders. “Careful, di Angelo. You’re not getting away from me that fast.”

He leaned backwards and settled into the chair properly. 


	2. Lakeside

Nico couldn’t help but laugh as he raced through the trees, following a glint of gold ahead.

“You can’t catch me!” Came the laughing voice of Will Solace from ahead of him.

“Watch me!” Nico yelled back, before putting on a burst of speed. Within seconds, he’d caught up with the other boy, who looked surprised. Sticking his tongue out for good measure, he brushed passed him towards the lake.

He’d nearly halved the distance when he felt his foot catch on something hard and fell over, catching himself with his hands. A second later, he felt a soft weight land on top of him with a surprised grunt, and crashed into the ground.

Laughing breathlessly, Nico managed to roll himself over onto his back, where he saw Will trying to balance above him, looking equally amused. He cut himself off with a surprised sound when he realised how close they were, skeletal butterflies filling his stomach.

“Sorry!” Gasped Will, rolling off him with a small smile.

Nico decided not to think about the tiny bit of sadness that came with the distance, instead pushing himself up into a sitting position to look down at the other boy.

Will’s hair was messy and windswept, falling into his eyes the way it did when he hadn’t had it cut for a while. His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath, but he was grinning wildly. In the semi-darkness, his eyes matched the lake next to them perfectly.

“I won,” said Nico, finally.

“You were going easy on me.” Accused Will, tilting his head to look at his face properly.

“Possibly.”

“_Why_?”

“To give you a chance at winning.”

“I could have won without you _letting_ me,” the blonde muttered. “I was _close._”

“_Hardly._” Snorted Nico. He’d noticed pretty quickly at camp that his training surpassed pretty much everyone else’s – he supposed that was one benefit of training with bloodthirsty ghosts. He’d been pushed so far that his own limits were far beyond even the normal demigods. Will, especially, had focused almost entirely on healing in his training, so really, he had no chance. But racing against him was still fun.

“All this arrogance is going to be your downfall one day.” Will sighed, pushing himself up so he was facing the other boy. “Haven’t you ever heard of the tortoise and the hare?”

“I have _great_ stamina.” Nico pointed out, immediately. “And besides, you had your tortoise moment when I fell over, and you lost it.”

“Yeah, well.” Will looked away, clearly not wanting to agree with Nico. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Mhmm.”

“_Next time,_ I’ll get you, though. You’ll see.”

“Looking forward to it.” Nico deadpanned, and Will rolled his eyes and turned fully towards the lake. In a smooth motion, he pulled off his sandals and thrust his feet into the dark water.

“Ah…” He leaned back on his hands. “The waters nice, Neeks. Seriously.”

“You’re getting your pants wet.” Pointed out Nico, and Will just shrugged.

“Worth it.”

Nico gave him a weird look, but after a second, pulled his own trainers and socks off and joined him. The water was icy cold, but felt refreshing compared to the hot summer air around them. It was almost nice enough for him to forget about the way his jeans were clinging to his skin.

He watched will curiously as the blonde closed his eyes serenely.

In one smooth movement, he shoved Will into the lake.

Will yelped as he tumbled forward, and came up spluttering as he turned to face the other boy. “It’s _freezing_!” He yelled furiously, shivering. Nico leaned backwards laughing, unable to help himself at the sight. Will narrowed his eyes.

Nico realised what was about to happen as soon as he felt Will hands clamp around his ankles, but he didn’t have time to let out more than a desperate ‘wait’ before he was yanked into the water. He kicked himself back to the surface and spat out a mouthful of gross lake water. “Alright, that’s it.” He snapped, and used his arms to create a wave large enough to soak the blonde.

“_Hey_!” Gasped Will, shaking his head to get the wet hair out of his eyes. With an almost evil glint in his eyes, he returned the gesture and immediately turned to swim towards the centre of the lake.

It took Nico a second to wipe the water out of his eyes, but then he followed easily. Swimming wasn’t one of his strong points, he only seemed to remember the basics through muscle memory from when he was a child, so Will had a massive head start. As soon as he reached the other boy, he got another wave to the face, and spluttered.

An hour later, the two of them hurled themselves up onto the bank again and collapsed, panting.

“I won.” Said Nico, when he finally got his breath back.

“You- not even close!” Argued Will.

“I did-“

“You did _not_!”

“I did!”

“Did not!”

Nico laughed at how childish they sounded. “I could settle for a draw.” He conceded, and Will rolled over to look at him and raise an eyebrow.

“Absolutely not. _I won._”

“Did anyone really win?” Asked Nico lightly, changing tact.

“Yes. Me.”

“Did you though? We’re both still soaked either way.”

“You’re _more_ soaked.”

“You can’t quantify ‘soaked’.”

“I can. I just did. And besides, it’s fine. We can stay here until we dry off.” Pointed out Will. “It’s warm anyway, it won’t take long.”

“I guess.” Agreed Nico, figuring it was easier than walking the whole way back to camp with wet jeans.

“Besides,” Will rolled back onto his back and slid his arm under his head. “The ground’s only mildly uncomfortable. Could be worse. Could be _really_ uncomfortable.”

Nico snorted softly, and the two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence.

After about ten minute, Nico drifted wordlessly to sleep, and Will followed soon after, both of them exhausted. Unconsciously, Nico rolled over and snuggled into Will’s side, and the blonde smiled in his sleep.


	3. In The Dark

“You want to go on a walk? Now?” Repeated Nico, uncertainly, staring at the boy in front of him.

“Well, it’s more of a one-evening-only camping session, really, but yeah.” Will grinned at him. “It’ll be fun!”

“We’re already at camp.” He pointed out. “We could tell stories here.”

“Yeah, but it’s not as fun. Come on, Neeks – it’ll be a fun group activity.”

“When you phrase it like that, it sounds even less fun.” Nico rolled his eyes, but caved. “Fine. Who else is going?”

“Great!” Will grinned, looking delighted. “Well, Percy and Annabeth, and Jason and Piper, and Hazel and Frank are over too, right? With Reyna? So we could ask those three, too.”

_Great._ Three couples, plus Reyna, who’d have to watch the two guys who’d rejected her make out with their girlfriends- she probably wouldn’t be that up for talking. Which meant he’d probably end up spending the whole time with Will. Which wasn’t necessarily _bad_.

“Sounds good,” he lied, as though going for a walk when it was already turning dark outside sounded like anything but an awful idea.

“In that case, get changed, and I’ll grab the others.” Will was still grinning, and Nico gave him the enthusiastic smile he could muster, which wasn’t much. The other boy didn’t seem to mind as he left the Hades cabin, though, and Nico guessed he was used to Nico’s less than enthusiastic response to things.

He flopped back on his bed with a groan. At least this time, he had a reason to be so… emotionless.

#

Half an hour later, Nico was walking through the camp with his hands thrust in his pockets, Will and Reyna next to him. The others had gone on ahead.

As they passed the camp fire, he noticed a familiar figure tending to it.

“Hey, Hestia,” he greeted warmly.

“Nico.” Hestia smiled at him. She had soot on her face and Nico found himself wondering, not for the first time, why she didn’t simply magic it away.

“Hestia… as in the _god_?” Repeated Reyna, looking surprised.

Hestia tilted her head. “Does that surprise you?”

“No,” Reyna assured her immediately, straightening up. “I’m sorry, my lady.”

Nico resisted the urge to smile at how Roman she was.

“I choose to take this form because it represents the kind of simple innocence often related to family.” Explained Hestia, looking unphased if not slightly amused. “Where are you all going at this time of night?”

“Camping.” Said Nico, trying to keep his un-enthusiasm out of his tone. “At a different, less comfortable camp.”

Ever since Bianca had left to join Artemis, Hestia had become almost a friend of sorts. It was still weird, when he thought about it too hard – she _was_ a goddess after all – but being around her felt comforting in a way nobody else, or at least very few other people, did.

Maybe he related to her more than he wanted to admit. Frequently ignored, trusted with some great deed and forgotten about.

Either way, they tended to have long conversations whenever he passed her. This time. However, he tried to move the conversation on as quickly as possible so the others wouldn’t be held back.

“How are you? Tended any interesting hearths, recently?”

“All hearths are interesting if you know what you’re talking about,” said Hestia, but she grinned. “Go. You should try and set yourselves up quickly. It’s already dark out.”

After a round of polite goodbyes, the group continued on their way. Nico found himself walking a little too close to Reyna, who was holding the torch, but no one seemed to notice.

They reached the ‘camp site’, which was basically just some blankets spread on the ground, within a few minutes. Nico immediately moved to sit next to his sister at the corner of the blanket, which was thankfully well lit. He wished he could’ve speant more time alone with Hazel – she’d only arrived today – but he reminded himself he still had tomorrow.

Will dropped down to sit next to him, close enough that their hands brushed, and Nico felt a dozen skeletal butterflies raise in his stomach. He tried to supress them, moving his hand to balance across one of his legs, which he’d pressed against his chest, and resting his chin on it.

Jason shot him a _look_ from the other side of the blanket.

Nico pretended he couldn’t see it.

They started out with a round of truth and dare, which Nico had hated ever since Hazel had explained to him what it was (her having learned from the romans, apparently). Thankfully, he managed to avoid answering anything more embarrassing than ‘never play mythomagic again or sleep in a coffin for the rest of your life’. He kind of suspected people were afraid to ask him anything worse. He wasn’t complaining.

By the time they decided to move to telling ghost stories, Nico was actually starting to enjoy himself. Unfortunately, that was when they began turning off the flashlights.

“Wait.” He glanced at his sister. “Why do you have to turn them off?”

“You can’t tell ghost stories with lot’s of light, Nico. It’s like scary-stories-101.” She laughed, clicking it off.

The darkness seemed to rush into him, wrapping around him like a weighted blanket. His heart stuttered in his chest.

“Right.” He said, forcing his tone to stay even. He hoped no one heard the strain in it.

“Whoever’s telling the story gets this flashlight.” Said Percy, waving said flashlight about. “For maximum spookiness.” To demonstrate, he held it under his chin to light up his face.

It only seemed to emphasise the darkness around him.

Nico drew in a long breath, prompting both Hazel and Will to shoot him a concerned look.

“Are you okay?” Asked Hazel, keeping her voice low.

“Yeah,” Nico whispered back. “My stomach just doesn’t feel too good.” It technically wasn’t a _lie_.

“If you’d told me you were sick, I wouldn’t have put so much effort into convincing you to come,” mumbled Will, trying to match their volume. “Are you going to be okay?”

Nico opened his mouth to answer, but his chest felt too tight for him to get any air in. _He couldn’t stay here. _Whatever he did, he had to _go_.

“I’m going to head back to the camp,” he managed, hoping they’d put the weakness in his voice down to his apparent sickness. This time, even Frank heard and glanced over as he pushed himself up.

“Hey, wait-“ Will aimed to catch his hand, but Nico managed to move so that he barely brushed the skin.

“It’s fine.” He said, in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. “I’m just- I’m just going to head back.”

With that, he turned and half sprinted away, hoping the others would explain why for him.

In the dark, his head spun, and his chest ached. The only thing keeping him moving was the idea of getting _somewhere_ safe.

Except that he hadn’t run in the right direction, and was actually heading to the lake. At the very least, he thought, the lake would be empty.

The darkness seemed to almost pull at him as he ran, wrapping around him, like he was being suffocated by his own safety blanket. He could _feel _it calling to him, trying to absorb him the way it did every time he shadowtravelled. Except he didn’t _want_ to be absorbed it.

He crashed through the trees in front of the lake and fell to his knees roughly. His blood rushed to his head, through his ears, and he clamped his hands over them, curling forward.

Every single breath he managed to drag in was painful, his chest seeming to clench tighter each time. His stomach ached like it had been tied up in knots, and he squeezed his eyes shut. The darkness was still there, still pressing against him, and he would’ve screamed if he could get his lungs to expand enough.

“_Nico!”_ The voice reached him as if through water, and for a second he thought he imagined it, but then, much closer- “_Nico!”_

Will dropped onto his knees next to him. For a second, he wondered if Will was going to try and touch him, and if he could even handle that, but the blonde just lowered himself as best he could the Nico’s level.

“Hey, Nico, it’s okay. You’re okay. Just _breathe._ Okay? Breath in, slowly…”

Nico forced himself to breath in, even though it ached.

“Hold it. Hold it. Hold it… and blow the air out.”

He did.

“And again. Breath in…”

Nico wasn’t sure how many times they repeated it, but by the time they stopped, his breathing had almost entirely returned to normal. And, he realise with relief, the darkness stopped feeling so suffocating.

For a few seconds, they continued to crouch there, as he tried to process what had just happened. Finally, he straightened up, and Will followed his lead.

“Thanks,” he said awkwardly, embarrassment starting to bubble up in his chest. _Did he really just do that in front of someone?_

“Don’t worry about it.” Said Will, immediately, watching him with concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” said Nico, trying to keep his tone level. Will just furrowed his brow a little, and then looked down at the other boys hands, which where clenched into fists in his lap.

“I managed to take a reading as you stood up. Even though you tried to avoid it.” He said softly, after a few seconds. Nico opened his mouth to try and justify himself, but Will just shook his head. “_Don’t_. It’s fine. I just- when I realised you weren’t sick, I got worried, so I followed you, and-“ he faltered, and raised his eyes to look directly into Nico’s. “Is that- I mean, I’m guessing that wasn’t the first time something like that’s happened?”

Nico shifted under his gaze. Even in the dark, Will’s eyes were a distinct, electric blue that made his stomach tingle a little. “No. Not really.”

“Do you know what happened? Or what caused it? If- if you’re comfortable telling me, obviously.”

Nico couldn’t have lied even if he’d wanted to, not with Will looking straight at him like _that_. But he found that, despite everything, he didn’t want to lie anyway.

“It was the dark.” He said, his voice sounding hollow. “Because it was dark, I- I couldn’t-“

“Oh, _Nico_.” Will moved forward and wrapped his arms around Nico before the latter could process what was happening, and then froze. “Is this okay? Are you-“

“It’s fine.” Said Nico, to his own surprise, his voice slightly muffled by Will’s shoulder. The other boy pulled him into a proper hug, holding him close. They stayed silent for a second, Nico just taking in how good and _warm_ it felt to be held like this.

“I’m afraid of the dark.” He said finally, his voice cracking, waiting for the judgement.

Will held him tighter.

“_It’s okay._”

Nico wrapped his arms around Will in response, a little awkwardly, holding him.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, pressing his head into the other boys shoulder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to ruin it for anyone, I just-“

“Hey, it’s not your fault.” Will pulled back enough to look at him, and Nico let him go with a bit of reluctance. “It’s _okay_ to be scared of things, Nico. Even for you.”

“You don’t have to- I know it’s stupid.” Nico swallowed hard. “I know the dark is meant to be my birth right, I know I was- safe. Whatever just happened I know it’s irrational-“

“You had a panic attack.” Said Will, firmly. “That’s not something to be ashamed of-“

“It is if after everything I’ve done, _that’s _what takes me down-“

“Panic attacks _aren’t a weakness._ Everything you’ve done is _why_ you get them – our minds can only handle so much, Nico, and you nearly _died_ because of all the darkness you absorbed. Of course you’re afraid of it, it’s a survival instinct.”

“I don’t want it to be a survival instinct.” Said Nico, his voice thick and stiff. “I don’t want to feel like that.”

“I know.” Will pulled him back into a hug, and this time Nico sunk into it immediately. “I know, and I get it. And I promise you that now I know about it, we can start talking about ways to make it easier on you. You aren’t the first person to get panic attacks, Neeks. You aren’t even the first demigod.”

Nico felt like should say something in response, even to say thank you, but all he could do was bury his head against Will’s chest.

They stayed there in complete silence for a while, the only movement being Will shuffling into a slightly more comfortable position and starting to gently rub circles into the other boys shoulder blade.

“Should we go back to the others?” Asked, Nico, finally.

“Do you want to go back?” Asked Will, his breath hot against Nico’s cheeks.

He didn’t have to think about his answer.

“No.”


	4. Hello to Hades

“What?” Nico stared at the boy in front of him.

“You heard what I said.”

“I’m hoping I _misunderstood_ it. You want me to tell my dad that we’re _dating_?”

“It’s not _that_ big of a deal.” Mumbled Will, absentmindedly tracing shapes in the grass. “Couples introduce each other to their parents. It’s just… a thing.”

“Most couples’ parents aren’t the god of the underworld.” Pointed out Nico.

“My dad’s Apollo, I’m not exactly new to meeting gods.” Fired Back, Will, and Nico rolled his eyes.

“Not the point.”

“Then what _is_ the point?”

“I just- why is it so important for you to meet him?”

“It’s not, I guess.” Mumbled Will, glancing away. They were currently sitting on top of the hills by the strawberry fields, one of the only places that was empty while most people were training at the camp. He could see some campers having a game of basketball on the court.

“Are you embarrassed to have me meet him?” Will blurted out, then winced. He wasn’t usually so insecure when it came to this kind of stuff.

“Yes,” said Nico bluntly, and Will turned towards him so fast he was pretty sure he got whiplash. Before he could say anything, Nico held up his hands. “Not of _you_, of H- of my _dad_. And Pers- ah, my _stepmothe_r isn’t great either.”

Will, felt relief bubbling in his chest, and actually let out a soft laugh.

“_That’s_ what’s stressing you out? Everyone has embarrassing families.”

“Not like mine.” Grumbled Nico, tugging at the blades of grass around them.

“I don’t care if they do something embarrassing, or whatever you’re worried about.” Will tried to reassure him, still smiling a little. “I just want to, y’know, meet them. I feel like we’re at that kind of stage in our relationship, all things considered.”

Nico’s cheeks flushed at the mention of their relationship, but he ignored it. “I know you won’t, but you’re-“ He struggled for a second for the words. “You’re- you’re just really _sunny_.”

“Sunny?” Repeated Will after a beat, raising his eyebrow. Nico sighed and dropped the grass blades he’d been pulling.

“You know what I mean. You’re all bright, and cheery, you know? And H- my father is the embodiment of darkness and gloominess. You’re, like, the least compatible people on earth.”

“So, you think he won’t like me?”

“He doesn’t really like anyone. I just- I think it’s going to be hard for you two to actually get along.”

Will considered that for a second. _Technically_, Nico had a point, he was the polar opposite of everything Hades stood for. _But_. “You like me.” He pointed out, and Nico rolled his eyes.

“Less and less by the second.” He mumbled, but in a way that clearly told Will he was kidding. The blonde sighed.

“Does it even matter that much if your dad doesn’t like me?” He asked finally, and Nico furrowed his brow.

“Not really. I don’t need his permission, or anything, I don’t care, I just- I don’t know. I don’t want to introduce you to someone who might not like you. It’s not fun.”

_Oh_. So all this was because he was trying to… _protect_ Will?

Alright. Will could work with that.

“I appreciate that. Genuinely. But, Nico-“ here, he leaned forward, balancing his hands on either side of the other boys lap. “I don’t want to avoid it forever. Isn’t it better to get it over with?”

“… I guess.” Said Nico, shifting uncomfortably at the closeness and how it triggered a swarm of skeletal butterflies in his stomach.

“It’s just, meeting people’s parents is a big stage in people’s relationships. And I want to do that. With you. Awkwardness and all.”

There was a pause, while Nico took in what he said. Will could practically see the wheels turning in his brain. Then the other boy narrowed his eyes.

“_Fine_.” He groaned, rolling his eyes. “If it’s genuinely important to you, _fine_. You can meet my father.”

Will’s face lit up. “Thank you!” He blurted, leaning forward to press his lips against Nico’s quickly. “It really is.”

“I’m pretty sure this counts as a manipulation tactic.” Mumbled Nico, but he pressed his lips against Will’s again, and moved to cup his face.

Will found himself sinking into the kiss for a few seconds, before he remembered something and broke it.

“I have to be at the infirmary at half past.”

“That’s fine.” Said Nico, glancing at his watch. “You have four minutes.”

Will couldn’t argue with that logic. Grinning, he moved forward to kiss Nico again.

#

The next day, Nico was a lot more nervous than usual as he walked through the underworld. He had to force himself to take it easy and focus on matching Will’s pace. There was some part of him that was worried that if he lost track of the blonde for even a couple of seconds, something could happen to him. Which was stupid, he knew that, but the last time he’d taken someone into the underworld… Well, he was just glad Percy had forgiven him.

It didn’t help that he was trying to give Tartarus’ pit a wide berth, which only increased the amount of time they spent wandering around.

“So don’t take anything he says seriously.” He finished, toying with the handle of his sword.

“I know,” sighed Will, looking around them. “You’ve told me like a million times.”

“Just making sure you know.”

Will was starting to understand exactly how unlike him this place was. They’d been underground for at _least_ twenty minutes now, walking through the winding back tunnels. The only light came from bright torches at regular intervals along the tightly packed dirt wall. He’d entirely lost his sense of direction, but he was pretty sure they’d gone back on themselves at least three times.

At the very least, Nico seemed to know exactly where he was going, not hesitating at a single cross-road.

Will tried to imagine spending all his time down here, and shivered. It was too damp, too dark, too many miles away from the sun- he could barely handle winter, let alone living underground.

He shivered, and Nico immediately stopped and looked at him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Will assured him, immediately, but the other boy didn’t look convinced.

“Alright,” he said after a few seconds, letting it go. “They’re right through here.”

He pointed at a dead end.

Will wondered if it would be rude to ask how they were going to go through a solid wall. “They do know I’m coming, right?” He asked instead, crossing his arms to try and warm them up. Nico gave a distracted nod.

“I told them I was bringing someone… important.” He replied, although the slight uncertainty in his voice wasn’t comforting. “Are you ready?”

“Yep,” Will grinned, because it seemed like the best response. Nico placed his hand on the wall, and it melted away.

Behind it was what looked like a ballroom, with an impossibly high roof, towering stone arches, and huge picture windows. Brightly coloured honeysuckle and roses were spreading up the wall, curving around the columns, and flower beds filled with blooming flowers lined the walls. The chandelier in the centre was designed to look like an intricate, glowing root system. Possibly the most surprising part was that the windows clearly showed the upper world as opposed to the underworld, with beautiful arcing scenery that looked different in every single one.

“Wow,” breathed Will, who couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Welcome to Persephone’s hall,” sighed Nico. The impressiveness had long since worn off on him.

A women who Will hadn’t noticed before stood up from examining some of the plants. She was clearly a goddess, and a beautiful one at that, with vibrant, flowing black hair and impossibly bright eyes. Her dress was full of bright, flowery colours that seemed to shift and flow into one another.

Will leaned towards Nico. “Persephone?” He asked, softly.

“The one and only.”

“Greetings!” Persephone turned to them and smiled. Her and Nico had gotten onto much better terms with each other, and although they still had the odd corn-plant moment, they’d started acting more like stepmother and stepson. Or, as close as they could get to it, given the situation. “I haven’t seen you in an age! And this must be your _very important guest_, hm?”

She turned to look directly Will, and he shifted under the weight of her gaze. He may have been exaggerating when he’d said he was good at meeting gods. It was a lot easier when he was in full medic mode.

May as well start with the basics, he decided.

“Hi. I’m Will.” He introduced, smiling.

“Of course!” Persephone waved her hands delightedly, and flowers appeared out of no where, floating in the air next to her. “I’m afraid you caught me in the middle of my flower preparations. I mean, I’d much rather be up there, since it’s summer and all, but I decided to stay down here for the night, since Nico had something important to say.”

She plucked the flowers out of mid-air, and pressed them into a surprised Will’s arms. “Hold these, won’t you? This place is a _disaster_.”

“The hall?” Asked Will, without really meaning to, but he was surprised.

“You see it too?” Persephone turned to him, sounding relieved. “It’s awful, isn’t it? I mean, really, bluebells next to coreopsis? Spring and Summer should be kept_ far_ apart, not to mention the blatant clash in colours.”

“Um,” Said Will, feeling himself heat up with embarrassment. He glanced down at his fingers, which were stating to glow softly.

“At lest he_ tried_.” Muttered Nico, sounding unamused.

“Nonsense, I know he’s awful at this stuff, but still, the lack of taste-“ She cut herself off with a roll of her eyes. “You get it, right-“ She cut herself off midsentence when she looked at Will. Nico followed her gaze, and raised an eyebrow.

“Um,” said Will, his voice muffled through some very overgrown flowers.

“_Wow_,” said Persephone, looking mildly impressed. She clapped her hands and the flowers disappeared, much to Will’s relief. “Those are some good green fingers you’ve got there. Are you one of my mothers?”

“Oh- no,” began Will, but before he could continue, Persephone made a sound of acknowledgement and turned back to her flowers. He looked at Nico, who still had a bemused expression on his face. “It’s the sun,” Will whispered softly. “I guess down here, it’s even stronger than up there.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Said Nico, furrowing his brow. “Maybe. Does it?”

“Will!” Persephone called to him before he could answer, and he turned to look at her. She had a look of intense concentration on her face as she stared at one of the flowerbeds. “Since you’re clearly someone with some knowledge about plants – would you put the asters here instead of the bluebells?” She asked, before continuing on without letting him answer. “Oh, you’re right, of course, much too similar. How about a hint of frangipani?”

She snapped her fingers, and the bluebells were replaced with much smaller pink and white flowers.

“They both look lovely.” Said Will awkwardly. The only plants he knew about were medicinal ones.

“Apart, yes. But they don’t really set each other off, do they? _That’s_ what flower arrangements all about, at it’s core. Maybe a sprig of-“

“Leave the poor boy alone, Persephone.” Said a deep voice nearby, and Will was suddenly glad his nerves were so good, because otherwise he would’ve jumped out of his skin. As it was, he limited his reaction to a jerky head movement to look at where Hades had just materialised.

Will wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t this. The god was dressed in simple black robes, his hood pushed back to reveal closely cropped black hair and impossibly dark eyes. Will’s heart stuttered a little in his chest.

“I am not scaring him!” Argued Persephone, looking offended. “We’re talking about flower arrangements! And really, who could blame us-“

“I thought you would _like_ the flowers.” Complained Hades. “They were meant to be a gift to you.”

“I appreciate the _thought_, but it looked like it was pieced together by a blind skeleton-“ She cut herself off by taking a deep breath. “_Anyway_, it doesn’t matter. Nico’s here.”

Hades turned to them, seeming to realise they were there for the first time.

“Father.” Said Nico, a little stiffly.

“Nico. Who’s your- what did you call it? ‘Important visitor’?”

“Uh-“ Nico’s cheeks darkened a little, and Will shot him a comforting look.

“Hi, I’m Will,” He introduced himself, smiling.

“He’s, uh- He’s my… you know. Boyfriend.” Nico managed to get out, before falling silent and shifting uncomfortably.

“Boyfriend?” Repeated Hades, looking Will up and down. The blonde resisted the urge to curl into himself.

“Hi,” he said again, softer this time.

“Oh, isn’t young love so _romantic_?” Cooed Persephone, clapping her hands together.

“Is it?” Asked Hades, raising an eyebrow, and his wife rolled her eyes.

“_Yes_. And the two of you must be starving, here-“ She waved her hand, and a huge table full of food materialised in the centre of the room. “Let us eat.”

Will hesitated, but Nico walked straight towards the table, shooting him a reassuring look as he went. “Don’t worry, you can eat this food without getting stuck down here.”

“Yes, I’m not particularly looking to add more teenagers to this place. Not living ones, anyway.” Confirmed Hades, which wasn’t entirely reassuring, but Will followed Nico’s lead and set next to him.

“So, tell me, Will, what’s your opinion on-“

“No, Persephone.” Sighed Nico.

“But-“

“No one wants to talk about flower arrangements.”

Will was tempted to disagree, if only to keep them from getting blasted into atoms, but Persephone just huffed.

“Well, maybe if one of you _did_, it might brighten the place up.” She grumbled. Hades frowned.

“Why would you want to _brighten_ it?”

“Anyway-“ Nico began, but Persephone spoke over him.

“Will, I’m sure you’d agree, since your dad is the god of the sun- isn’t it horribly _dark_ down here?”

“How do you-“ Will began, but then paused. “Uh, I mean, I think it’s quite nice the way it is.” He lied.

“Ah, you’re a son of _Apollo_. Well, that explains the sunshiny smell. I’ll have to disinfect the place later.” Sighed Hades. Will looked bewildered.

“You can’t stink of sunshine, father.” Said Nico, rolling his eyes.

“Well, he’s just… very _bright_, isn’t he? Not what I thought your type was, at all.”

“Father-“

“Why would a son of Apollo want to come into the underworld?” Asked Hades, jabbing a fork casually in his direction.

“Oh, I- uh-“ Will’s whole plan was starting to look a lot dumber now. “I wanted to meet you guys. Cause you’re Nico’s family, and that’s- that’s what couples do.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.” Smiled Persephone, brightly.

“He’s cheery, too.” Said Hades after a few seconds, clearly going for the nicest option. Will felt his cheeks flush.

“Okay,” said Nico, standing up. “Father- a word?”

Hades rolled his eyes, but stood up and followed Nico to the corner of the room, much to Will’s surprise. If anyone else talked to a god like that…

“Don’t be so shocked, sweetie.” Laughed Persephone. “You’ll get used to it soon enough! But now that we’re on our own-“ she leaned forward across the table, as if shifting into serious mode. “Have you ever considered the process flowers go through during the seasonal shift from summer to spring?”

“Um, no, I can’t say I have…” Mumbled Will.

Over in the corner of the room, Nico was arguing softly with Hades.

“The boy _reeks_ of sunshine!” Snapped Hades, quietly. “Of _course_ we’re going to clash!”

“You’re not clashing, you’re just not _trying_.” Retorted Nico. “I’m not asking you to love him, I’m not idiot, I just want you to make an _effort_. He is!”

“I put up with a lot when you where all over _Percy Jackson_, so don’t act like I don’t make an effort for you-“

Nico felt his cheeks burn. “Will isn’t like Percy-“ He began stiffly, and Hades just let out a short laugh.

“You can avoid it as much as you want, Nico, I know you were in love with the boy. I’m not _stupid_.”

“I _was_.” Said Nico, trying to supress the embarrassment filling his chest. “I was, you’re right, but this isn’t- Will isn’t _like_ Percy.”

“How so? Because he said _yes_? Either way, Nico, you know I’m willing to make a lot of sacrifices for you, but I don’t understand why you’d expect me to welcome this boy into my home-“

“Because I like Will _more_ than Percy.” He blurted, his cheeks flushing. Hades paused, and took him in.

“More than-“

“_Yes_. Okay? And for some reason, meeting you is a big deal to him, so just. Be nice. Please? Make an _effort_.”

“Fine.” Said Hades, after a second, sounding annoyed but looking bemused.

“Thank you.” Said Nico, awkwardly, and they both turned towards the table. When he took in the scene in front of him, he almost wished he hadn’t.

“Persephone, _please_ tell me that isn’t Will.” He said, staring at the large, overgrown sunflower balancing on the table.

“We were discussing the transition between seasons, and I thought he might want to experience it first hand!” She said, smiling.

“So you turned him into a _sunflower_?” Said Nico, incredulously. “Turn him _back_!”

“But the seasons haven’t changed yet!” Persephone pouted. “It’ll only take, like, a month for him to get the full experience-“

“My boyfriend is not staying as a sunflower for a _month_.” Snapped Nico. “Turn. Him. Back.”

“But I-“

“_Persephone_.”

“Fine!” She huffed indignantly, snapping her fingers. The plant on the table morphed into a very bewildered looking Will.

“I- I- Wha- I don’t-“

“My _lovely_ stepmother turned you into a plant.” Muttered Nico, stepping closer to the table. “Take a deep breath.”

“A-a plant?” He repeated, frowning.

“A sunflower.” Hades butted in. “Fitting, I suppose. Anyway-“ He coughed as he caught Nico’s eye. “Persephone, don’t you have anything to say to our guest?”

“Don’t treat me like a child.” She muttered, before sighing. “I’m sorry I turned you into a sunflower.”

“Uh,” Will blinked, hard, trying to pull himself together. His head was still scrambled. “Um, it’s fine?”

“Good. Now that that’s cleared up,” Hades smiled at Will, and Nico shot him a suspicious look. “Tell me, son of Apollo: why did the sun go to school?”

Will didn’t reply for a moment, too dazed to fully process what was happening, but Nico looked exasperated. “Father-“

“You wanted me to make an effort, this is me making an effort.”

“Uh, I don’t know.” Said Will finally, and Hades turned back to him and grinned.

“To make himself _brighter_.” He finished, looking smug. Will let out a nervous laugh.

“Okay, that’s a good one.” He grinned, starting to feel more himself. “I have one. Why-“

“Will!” Nico gave him an incredulous look, but Will ignored him.

“Why do you have to wear sunglasses when you’re hot?”

“I don’t know, why?”

“Because sun glasses make you cooler!”

Hades let out a short laugh at that, as Nico watched them blankly. “Alright. I’ve got more- why didn’t the sun go to school?”

#

Nico stared at Will as they walked back through the underworld.

“What?” Laughed his boyfriend.

“I’m just… _shocked_. I didn’t realise you knew so many _awful_ jokes.” He said, letting the surprise leak into his voice.

“Please, it’s Cabin Seven culture.” Will scoffed. “I have a million more where they came from.”

“My opinion of you is changing so much.” Muttered Nico, turning away from him to pull him into the next right turn. “_So much_.”

“So is my opinion of _Hades_.” Commented Will, raising his eyebrows. “I wasn’t expecting him to know that many jokes.”

Nico shrugged. “Yeah, well, when he puts in the effort… you can see where I get my fantastic sense of humour from.”

Will grinned and linked their fingers together. “Of course.” He said, his voice dripping with a false reassurance, before their shoulders together. “It went well, though. Overall.”

“Aside from you get turned into a sunflower.”

“Aside from that. Does she do that a lot?”

“Sometimes.” Said Nico, in a tone that suggested to Will that he didn’t want to dig any further.

“Well, I guess I should avoid messing up, then.”

“You’ll be fine.” Said Nico, smirking. “But anyway – does this mean I get to meet your parents now?”

Will spun away from the other boy, breaking their hands apart and staring at him with wide eyes. “Oh, _Hades_ no.”


	5. New Clothes

Will knocked on the door to the Hades cabin, bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation. There was a soft groan from inside, and then the black door opened slightly and a face appeared in it.

“Why?” Asked a groggy voice, before Nico blinked and focused on Will, frowning. “Solace? What are you doing here?”

Nico had only been at camp for a week, and Will still got kind of flustered seeing him. _Especially_ when his hair was sticking up in all directions and his voice was still raspy from just waking up. 

“Um…” He tried to recollect his thoughts. “I came to… talk to you.” He mentally facepalmed at how lame that sounded, but Nico didn’t seem phased.

“What about? Did something happen?”

“No, no, I just want to- talk.”

Nico gave the healer a quick once over, looking confused and suspicious, before shrugging.

“Sure, whatever.” He moved back to let the boy passed. “But I’m warning you, the décor in here is… awful.”

Will let out a short laugh as he walked in, but then faltered when he saw the room. Nico hadn’t been kidding. The walls were a deep, pure black made from solid oblivion and lined with columns. The only light came from flickering green torches set up against the wall, setting a ghostly tint over everything.

“Is that a coffin?” Asked Will, after a second, glancing at the black and red bunks. Only one of them was clearly used, the blankets and pillows tossed haphazardly across it.

“Yep.”

“Wow.”

“I know.” Nico closed the door behind him. “I’m going to have to entirely redesign it at some point. What did you need?”

Will looked at him, taking in his rumpled, half open shirt and pants. “Have you just woken up?” He asked instead of answering, even though it was obvious that he had.

“I, uh, still have trouble sleeping.” Nico muttered. “Was that when you wanted to talk about?”

“What- Oh! No, I…” He shook his head slightly. “I was just thinking- don’t you think it’s time you got new clothes?”

“New clothes?” Repeated Nico, glancing down at himself.

“I just mean- you can’t wear the same shirt and pants for the rest of your life, y’know.”

Nico absolutely knew that, given that said shirt was a jarringly bright tropical number. “Why do you care about that?” He asked, which was a little harsher than he’d intended, but in his defence, he was still half asleep.

“I care because first of all, as entertaining as it is to look at, that t-shirt is garish,“ Will pointed out, gesturing at him, and Nico didn’t disagree. “And _secondly_, I’m your friend, and making your friend own more than one outfit that you also _sleep_ in is important.”

Although at this specific point in time, Will kind of thought that was a good thing.

Nico sighed. “Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“I’m going to bring over some clothes for you to try on.” Said Will, simply. “And you can wear some of them until we manage to get out of here and do some shopping, though gods knows when that’ll be.”

Nico felt a pang of sympathy for the other boy. He’d been turning up at the infirmary at least once a day to help out, mostly by cutting bandages or helping write stuff down. It definitely wasn’t his favourite job, but recently, the impeding sensation of death had started to ease up, which was a relief. Will, on the other hand, spent nearly every moment of his day tending to patients, and only took breaks at all because his siblings forced him to go home and sleep.

Still, Nico felt a small feeling of warmth in his stomach when he realised that Will was deliberately using his one break to talk to him.

“I’m guessing I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” He asked, mostly for show.

“Nope.” Will grinned.

“In that case, sure.” He conceded with a shrug. “Just give me twenty minutes or so. I need to get ready.”

“Sure,” said Will, nodding. “I need to go grab some clothes anyway. I’ll see you in twenty minutes.”

“Great.” Nico held the door open as Will left. “See you then.”

#

Exactly twenty minutes later, Will knocked on Nico’s door again, a bag full of clothes in one hand. This time, the door opened immediately and Nico let him in. “Let’s get this over with.” He muttered, and Will felt a grin tugging at his lips. He was getting used to Nico’s grumpy comments.

“That’s the attitude I’m looking for!” He responded with an exaggeratedly happy tone, before dropping the bag onto one of the bottom bunks. Nico had clearly tried to clean up a little, since the top bunk was no kind of made (although he wouldn’t be getting any points on the inspection), and the boy himself had smoothed his hair down and adjusted his shirt properly.

Will tried not to be too disappointed with the lack of bedhead, and instead tossed a t-shirt at him. “Here.” Nico caught it instinctively, and then gave him a questioning glance. “Put it on.” Said Will, slowly and with emphasis.

“_Now_?”

“Why not?” Asked Will, and felt his cheeks heat up as he realised the implication. “I won’t look.” He added quickly.

Nico rolled his eyes, and Will turned around and flopped on the bed as he started to get changed, burying his face in a pillow.

Pulling off his Hawaiian-style shirt, Nico couldn’t help but be a little relieved. Aside from the fact that this gave him an excuse to hang out with Will (which he definitely didn’t care about), anything that meant he could get rid of his current outfit was a relief. He’d already adjusted to the brightness of it, but he couldn’t deny that not being able to change was kind of gross.

“Done.” He said, once he’d pulled the second t-shirt on.

Will peaked up cautiously. Seeing that he was, in fact, done, he rolled onto his side. The Camp Half-Blood shirt hung off him, clearly way too big. “Ah,” He said, doing a bad job at supressing a laugh. “I guess I’m a few sizes bigger than you.”

Nico gave him a look that seemed to say _you think_?, but then tugged at the material. “I don’t think orange is my colour.” He decided. Will was inclined to agree, but he didn’t, because there was something weirdly amusing about seeing Nico in bright colours.

“You look fine.” He said instead, reaching into the bag and tossing him another t-shirt. “Here.”

Nico changed again as Will buried his face back into the pillow, and frowned down at the shirt. “Done.”

Will turned back to him. The t-shirt was blue, with a lighter blue strip round the middle, and still clearly too big. “Do you not like it?” He asked, examining the boys face.

“It’s so _bright_.” He complained.

“It’s not _bright_, it’s _blue_. Stop whining.”

“Don’t you own anything in black?”

“Do I _look_ like I usually wear black?”

He had a point there, much to Nico’s chagrin. “I look like an idiot.” He said, instead of admitting it. Will rolled his eyes.

“Shut up. You look cute.”

There was a beat before Will realised what he’d said, and Nico’s head snapped up so fast he was worried he got whiplash. He stared at the blonde in shock.

“Um.” Said Will, before realising he had absolutely no excuse. “I just mean, uh, you look good. In colours. That aren’t black.”

There was another pause. “Thank you?” Said Nico, after a few seconds, still looking stunned.

“Right,” said Will, seriously wishing the floor would swallow him whole. Normally, he could make those comments without blinking, but _normally_ he didn’t actually like the person like that, and _normally_ the person wasn’t Nico di Angelo. Mr Can’t-process-someone-saying-he-has-a-friendly-face di Angelo. “Um, I should go- I mean, there’s still t-shirts in the bag, which you can look through, but I should probably, um, leave-“

“Wait,” Nico frowned at him as he tried to edge towards the door, and Will stopped, even though it was taking all his willpower not to get anymore flustered right now. “You don’t have to leave. I mean, I don’t- this definitely doesn’t suit me, and I’m going to have to try on more clothes, so…” He trailed off awkwardly, but Will thought he got the point.

“I should stay to give you advice?” He suggested, lightly, and Nico nodded.

“Basically, yeah.”

Will tried not to show any of his relief on his face. “Okay. I mean, sure.” He made his way a little awkwardly back to the bed. “I have, like, another hour of my break left, I can stay.”

“Okay.” Said Nico, before pausing. “Do you, uh, happen to have any clothes that aren’t bright?”

“That shirt isn’t bright.” Muttered Will, but he scanned through the back anyway and pulled out a plain grey t-shirt. It was one of what he referred to as his ‘healer t-shirts’, which basically meant a t-shirt he didn’t mind getting gross when his surgeon shirts were covered in… anything. “How about _grey_?” He offered, holding it out.

“Good enough.” Said Nico, taking the t-shirt, and Will turned to bury his face back in the cushion. It felt like Nico had decided to pretend the cute comment hadn’t happened, which was a relief.

As he lay there, it occurred to him that maybe having Nico walking around in his clothes for the foreseeable future might actually be counterproductive, but he pushed that thought down with the butterflies in his stomach.


	6. A Cold Trip

“It’s cold,” complained Will loudly, pulling his thick winter jacket tighter around him. Nico rolled his eyes.

“You’re being ridiculous. It’s _fine_.” He huffed, but he slowed down to let the blonde catch up with him.

“It’s, like, minus-a-million degrees, there’s nothing _fine_ about this.” Whined Will. When Nico didn’t respond, he pouted and started walking again, trudging through the snow to reach his boyfriend. “Why are you trying to give me hypothermia?” He demanded.

“Don’t be stupid, you’re wearing about fifteen layers.” Sighed Nico, tugging at the other boys scarf. The only part of Will he could actually see was his eyes and the curls of hair around his ears that didn’t stay under his hat. “Anyway, it’s not much further now.”

“We’re nearly there?” Will straightened up, looking suddenly energised. “How far?”

“Like, the end of the road.” Nico gestured vaguely. Will deflated again almost immediately.

“That’s ages away.” He muttered.

“It’s, like, five minutes, tops. Ten, if you keep whining about it.”

“In minus-a-million degrees.”

“You’re pathetic.” Said Nico, but he couldn’t stop the fondness leaking into his voice. “You were so much more excited earlier.”

“You said it would be a short walk-“

“This _is_ a short walk-“

“It’s been over twenty minutes, Death Boy. That’s _not_ short.”

“Do _not_ call me Death boy,” complained Nico, rolling his eyes. “Are you seriously counting how long we’ve been walking for?”

“_Yes_. 24 minutes and 42 seconds – and counting.” Replied Will, completely seriously.

“You’re an idiot.” Said Nico, who was almost starting to regret his offer. He’d thought it would be nice to show Will one of his favourite coffee shops from when he’d lived in Washington – it was one of the few things he really remembered about going to school here. He hadn’t factored in Will’s dislike of the cold. “We could’ve shadow traveled, but _no_, you wanted to get a bus.” He muttered, dragging out the ‘no’.

“You can’t shadow travel.” Sighed Will. “Not all the way to Washington, at least, and not with twice the baggage.”

“You’re not baggage.” Said Nico, but he knew that Will was right. He could be a little flippant with his powers, and he was getting stronger with them, but they still drained him every time. “Anyway, I’m just pointing out that you’re the reason we had to get a bus that stopped so far away, so. This is really on you.”

Will was about to retort when he noticed something white floating passed his eyes. “It’s snowing again.” He said instead, glancing up. Nico followed his gaze. After a second, Will dropped his eyes and adjusted his scarf again. “How can something so pretty be so cold and evil?” He muttered, crossing his arms to try and maintain body heat.

Nico didn’t bother to respond to that, instead tipping his head back and sticking his tongue out.

“What are you doing?” Asked Will curiously. 

“Catching snowflakes.” Said Nico without moving.

“_Oh._” After a second, Will pulled his scarf away from his face and tilted his head back into the same position. He lasted about a minute before he huffed, tilting his chin in towards his neck. “As fun as this is, I’m freezing.” He mumbled, wrapping his scarf back into place.

Nico laughed softly and turn to look at him, his eyes lit up with excitement. Even after all this time, it made his stomach flutter.

“Come on, then.” He held out his hand. “If we actually move, we’ll get there a lot faster."

Will couldn’t argue with that logic, so he grabbed Nico’s hand and let himself be dragged along as Nico ran ahead. There was no chance of him keeping up, especially not in the snow.

“Hey,” he gasped finally, tugging at his boyfriends arm enough to get his attention. “I’m not as fast as you, hang on.” Nico glanced behind him and came to a stop, and Will took the opportunity to flop dramatically into the snow. “I don’t know how you do it,” he managed, gasping.

“My secret is not whining.” Nico bent over him. “Are you going to get up?”

“Can’t. I’m dead.”

“Oh my _gods_.” Nico rolled his eyes. “You’re definitely _something_.”

Will just grinned at him and wiped the snow out of his eyes. He was starting to see a small flaw with landing on his back. “I’m too tired to get up. And cold.”

“We are literally across the road.” Said Nico, nodding his head towards the café. “Like, _literally_. Come on.” He held his hand out to help him up.

Will grabbed it and instead pulled it hard enough that Nico fell on top of him with a soft ‘oof’.

“_Will_!” He gasped, spitting out snow. Will laughed, a short, loud sound that made Nico feel warm inside. “_Why_?”

“I figured you’d want to join me,” Will said, feigning innocence, before shifting slightly to press their lips together. They were close enough already that he barely had to move off the ground. Nico let him, for a second, then pulled away slightly.

“We’re in the middle of the street.”

“So? Nobodies out here.” Will shrugged as best he could with his limited space, and propped his arm behind his head. “I think we need to share body heat, so neither of us freeze to death.”

“Hm.” Nico pressed a quick kiss back. “_I_ think we should just get up and walk inside.”

Will pouted. “Why do you want me to catch hypothermia?” He asked, and Nico snorted.

“The door is literally five feet away.” He pushed himself up and offered his hand out again. This time, Will took it, hurling himself to his feet after a second of deliberation and pressing a kiss to the other boys cheek.

“You’re cold.” He declared, pulling off his scarf.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re freezing. You’re going to catch your death.”

“I am death.” Said Nico, but it came out muffled as Will wrapped the scarf around him. “We’re literally walking across the road.”

“Don’t care. You need to be warm.”

“I thought _you_ needed to be warm. Didn’t you say every single layer was vital?”

“We’re only walking across the road, I’ll live.”

Nico gave his boyfriend an ‘are you kidding me’ look, but Will just grinned and took his hand.

“Show me the way, then.” He prompted, and the son of Hades sighed, and turned, gesturing across the road.

“It’s right there.” He said, pointing out a small, old fashioned building. It looked like it had been built at least fifty years ago, with the exception of the brightly coloured, well-worn sign, but the inside still looked warm and welcoming. Thankfully, most people were either at school, work, or hiding from the snow, so it was completely empty.

In other words, it looked _great_.

They made their way quickly across the road and into the shop, Nico sliding into a booth by the window while Will ordered their drinks.

He glanced out. He’d been here a few times before without Bianca, and the first couple felt terrible. Eventually, after more than a few accidental shadow travels here, he’d adjusted to it, and he’d managed to reframe it in his mind as a place of good memories instead of loneliness.

“What are you thinking?” Asked Will, appearing at the booth and tugging off his hat and gloves.

Nico shrugged. “Nothing, really.”

Will made a soft humming sound like he didn’t quite believe that, but he’d accept it anyway, and sat down opposite him. “It’s nice. I get why you wanted to come here so much.”

“Yeah, it is. Warm, too.”

Will grinned at him. “A definite plus, I gotta say.”

“Worth the walk?” Nico raised an eyebrow at him, and Will glanced out the window and feigned nonchalance.

“Maybe the walk wasn’t all that bad.”

“Maybe?”

Will shifted his gaze back to him. “Alright, I’ll concede that _some_ of it was fun.” He said pointedly, and Nico felt a bit a heat coming to his cheeks. He hoped one day he’d grow out of flustering that easily.

“Some? I’m honoured.” He fired back sarcastically, keeping his tone steady.

“You should be,” said Will, before leaning forward onto his elbows and propping his chin on his hands. “I love you, Neeks.”

“Love you too.”


	7. Sneezes

Will groaned when he felt two hands shaking him, and buried his head deeper into his pillow. “Go away.”

“You’re going to miss breakfast.”

“That’s fine,” he mumbled, and the shaking stopped.

“Are you feeling okay?” Asked Avalon, and he could feel her shifting her weight onto the bed as she sat down.

“I’m fine. I’m just really… tired.”

“Do you actually want to miss breakfast, then, or are you just being whiny?”

He paused to consider that for a second, then sighed. “I don’t want to miss breakfast.” He grumbled, rolling over. “I’ll be out in a second.”

“Great,” she said, pushing herself off the bed with a smile. “Do you want me to wait for you?”

“Nah, it’s fine.” He sat up groggily and rubbed a hand across his face. “It’s just, y’know, _winter_.”

She made a sympathetic sound of agreement as she left. Children of Apollo didn’t take cold very at all, and they also seemed to have their internal clocks set to wake up_ at sunrise_, which made winter mornings a very specific type of hell.

Then again, waking up also meant food, and Nico, and probably no work because it was midwinter, all of which was very worth waking up for.

He got dressed as quick as possible, making sure to add an extra thick coat and a few more pairs of socks for the cold, and then made his way out. As he passed through the door, he let out a small sneeze, but he didn’t think too much of it.

As he walked, he glanced up at the sky. The barrier protecting the camp kept out the worse of the weather, but it still let in a light flurry of snow. In theory, Will loved it – it was nice to look at and fun to mess around in, especially when it came to sledding down all the hills surrounding the camp. In _practice_, Will hated the cold weather, strong winds, short days, and everything else it came with it.

He made a beeline straight towards the Apollo table when he entered the Pavilion, unsurprised to not see Nico there yet. This might’ve been late for _him_, but it was probably pretty early for the son of Hades, who’s internal clock seemed to be set a few hours ahead of everyone else’s.

He sat down and groggily stared at his plate.

“The head councillor has arisen!” Said Kayla, deepening her voice for dramatics.

“Morning.” Will mumbled.

“How’s Nico?” Asked Austin, looking smug as he speared a piece of sausage with his fork.

“He’s fine.” Said Will tonelessly, long since used to getting these questions whenever Nico wasn’t around.

“And the extra lessons?” Prompted Kayla.

“Going fine.”

“And the date, yesterday?” Tried Austin.

“It was fine.”

“Come _on_.” Kayla pouted. “Don’t we get any details?”

“Nope.” Will turned his attention to his plate, ordering his usual – bacon, eggs, and toast – even though he didn’t feel that hungry. They still smelt great. “I need to burn some food.”

“Do we get details when you come _back_?” Asked Austin, and Will rolled his eyes and didn’t bother answering, instead going to join the queue.

He glimpsed Nico walking in out the corner of his eye, and turned slightly as the boy walked towards him. “You’re up early.” He pointed out, somewhat sarcastically. Nico gave him a small smile.

“There’s a first time for everything,” he said with a shrug. “Also, I was hungry. What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You look exhausted.” Nico gave him a quick once over. “Also, this is way later than you usually start eating.”

“It’s not that much later,” Will grumbled, before giving in. “I’m just _tired_, that’s all. I blame winter. It saps the strength out of me.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” Said Nico, sarcastically, before raising an eyebrow. “Are you still up for training later? We can move it, if you need to.”

“I’m sure I’ll manage.” Said Will, supressing a yawn as he stepped up to give his offering. “I’ve got nothing else to do today, anyway.”

Something flickered in Nico’s eyes, and he raised an eyebrow. “I’m glad I rank so high on your priority list.” He hummed, and Will rolled his eyes, stepping down again.

“You know what I mean.”

“Do I?” Asked Nico, before smiling. “If you’re up for it, we can go straight after breakfast. There shouldn’t be anyone over there today anyway.”

“Sounds great.” Will grinned, ignoring how achy his arms felt. “I’ll need to check on the infirmary first, but then- yeah.”

They made their way back to the Apollo table together, and Will felt a rush of relief as he realised that none of his siblings could bug him about Nico if he was actually at the table.

#

Nico looked up as Will walked into the training area, interrupting his bored pacing. “Hey,” he grinned, grabbing one of the swords off the rack. “How’s everything at the infirmary?”

“Good,” said Will, running a hand through his hair. “We haven’t had any admittances, so.” He shrugged. The camp was usually empty enough this time of year that he could get away with doing the bare minimum of work, which was always a relief. The worst they got was people with colds or the flu, and the treatment for that was just warmth and sleep, because giving them ambrosia or nectar was too much of a risk.

He reached out to take the sword, but then faltered half way and had to grab a tissue out of his pocket, sneezing into it. Nico blinked, and then frowned at him.

“Ick,” said Will, before tossing the tissue almost perfectly into the bin. “Sorry.”

He reached out for the sword again, but Nico hesitated. “Are you sick?” He asked, sounding surprised.

“No.” Grumbled Will, immediately. “I’m fine, it was just a sneeze.”

“If you are sick-“

“I’m not.” Said Will, firmly. “I can do this.”

He sounded so determined that Nico caved and tossed him the sword, which he managed to catch. “If you’re sure…” he trailed off and waited a few seconds for Will to back out. When he didn’t, he sighed and raised his sword. “Okay, then. We’ll start with a few basic blocks.”

Will nodded, and adjusted his stance accordingly. After checking he was ready, Nico moved forward and brought his sword towards the other boy in a slashing motion. The blonde brought his up to block it, but sneezed right before they connected, managing to cover his nose at the last second but dropping his weapon in the process.

“Sorry.” He mumbled, grabbing a tissue. Nico frowned at him.

“Are you sure you’re not sick?” He asked after a second, concern leaking into his voice.

“I don’t get sick.” Declared Will, throwing that tissue into the bin, too. “My immune system is too strong from helping people who do.”

“Then why are you taking your coat off?” Asked Nico, raising his eyebrow. Will faltered for a second, but then continued shrugging it off.

“It’s hot in here.” He declared, simply.

“No, it’s not. It’s freezing.”

“Well… you’re wearing less layers than me.” Said Will, clearly trying to defend himself, but even he trailed off a little at the end.

Nico considered for a second, then sighed. “_Fine_. But- we aren’t practicing with actual swords again. It’s too dangerous.”

“I’m not-“

“I know,” Nico sheathed his sword and held up his hands in a placating gesture. “But if you sneeze again, or lose your focus in anyway, and I hit you… You could get seriously hurt. You were lucky this time that I have quick instincts – you’ve seen the injuries.” He chastised him, trying to sound firm-but-not-too-condescending.

“Fine,” Will conceded, after a second. “What do you want to do instead?”

“We’re going to practise some strategies,” declared Nico, walking over to the edge of the arena and going through the boxes.

“What kind of strategies?” Asked Will, suspiciously.

“Sword fighting ones.”

“Helpful.”

Nico straightened up with a grin, tossing Will one of the two objects he was holding.

“Nico,” he said after a second of processing, “is this a pool noodle?”

“It’s a short one, so it’s easier to control. Also, I got you the yellow one.” He held up his own black noodle as if to emphasise it.

“Thanks?”

The son of Hades ignored the ‘are you serious’ look he was getting in favour of walking back into the middle of the arena and repositioning himself in a fighting stance. “It’s much safer, don’t you think?” He pointed out, raising his eyebrow. Will couldn’t argue with that, even though he wanted to, so he just maintained his blank look. “Fine. Think fast-“

Nico stepped forward, swinging his noodle towards the other boy, who instinctively raised his own noodle towards it. They connected, and then Nico grinned and slid his noodle under Will’s and bumped into his side.

“See? Strategy. You blocked, and I still got you.”

“I get it,” said Will, sniffing slightly. “I need to have a full… plan to carry out.”

“Right, as opposed to swinging wildly- or even just reacting to your opponent. You need to know what path you’re going to take before you take it- and to do that, you ideally want to know your _opponent_. Just like I knew how you’d block that shot.”

“You have an unfair advantage.” Noted Will. “You _trained_ me.”

Nico shrugged. “I also have several years more of experience with the harshest teachers you can find.” He pointed out. “Most of your opponents will have an advantage of some kind over you. You have to work around it.”

“Right.”

Nico demonstrated a few more moves, and then they started to spar like they had real swords. Eventually the sense of ridiculousness started to wear off, and it got pretty fun. He even managed to get in a few hits at Nico, although he was pretty sure his boyfriend was just going easy on him.

After about ten minutes, he held up his hand to indicate he needed to pause, and turned away to cough deeply into a tissue. By the time he turned back, his chest ached with the effort and his head swam unhelpfully. “Sorry,” He mumbled, weakly.

Nico opened his mouth, seemed to think better of whatever he was going to say, and then hesitated a second before speaking. “Are you okay?” He asked, gently.

“Yep,” said Will, clearing his throat. “I’m fine.” Nico still looked uncertain, but Will adjusted his stance and grip so he was back into a more ready position.

After a moment, Nico matched him. “Ready?”

“Yep.”

Nico swung forward, going for the knees, and Will leapt back out of his reach.

Or rather, he _tried_ to leap backwards, but what actually happened was more of a stumble where he felt like his entire brain flipped over from the motion, and then everything went black.

#

Will opened his eyes to a blinding light, and instinctively squeezed them shut again. Wasn’t he at the arena like two seconds ago? Wasn’t he _standing up_?

He felt a soft nudge at his side – not someone trying to wake him up, but someone tucking a sheet around him. A sheet? That wasn’t right.

He opened his eyes more cautiously this time and glanced around, ignoring how the slight motion seemed to make his head ache. He would’ve recognised the room anywhere – he as lying in an infirmary bed, in one of the private sections.

A few feet away, Nico and Avalon were talking softly. Nico realised he was awake first, glancing past the latter’s shoulder, and smiled at him.

“Welcome back,” he grinned, walking over. “Good to see you’re awake.”

“What happened?” Asked Will tiredly, still feeling disorientated and confused. “How did I get here?”

“You passed out while we were training.” Explained Nico, raising an eyebrow.

“He carried you back here,” said Avalon, waving her hand at the Italian, who shoved his hands in his pocket. “It was very heroic, but also terrifying.”

“I passed out?” Will repeated, frowning. Nico shrugged.

“I told you you were sick. But do you ever listen to me? No.”

“I don’t get sick,” mumbled Will, which seemed like a pointless statement even to him.

“Try telling that to the rest of your body.” Retorted Avalon drily, before holding up a thermometer. “May I?”

Will opened his mouth obediently, and Nico moved around to sit on the end of the bed so he could watch the blonde, crossing his legs. When the thermometer beeped, she pulled it back out.

“102 degrees,” she read out loud. “_Definitely_ a fever. How does your throat feel?”

“Fine,” replied Will, automatically.

“That’s great.” Avalon deadpanned. “How does it really feel?”

Will paused to consider before he answered. “Sore.” He admitted, finally.

“And your head?”

“Also sore.”

“And your chest?”

Will gave her a tight smile. “How about we just go with ‘everything is sore’?”

She hummed gently, and put the thermometer down on the side. “Definitely the flu, then. Which means you’re on bedrest for the foreseeable future.”

“But-“

“No.” Nico held up his hand to cut him off. “You’re not going anywhere. _I’ll_ take care of you.”

Avalon nodded in agreement. “Exactly. And, Nico, just remember- lot’s of water, warmth, and rest. That’s all he needs.”

“Noted.”

She grinned at him before leaving and closing the door gently behind her.

Nico turned back to Will, who was glaring at him. “I’m _not_ staying in here,” he grumbled, and Nico laughed.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what_ I_ feel like whenever _you_ make _me_ stay here.”

“So this is revenge?”

“No,” Nico rolled his eyes, still smiling. “This is taking care of you, sunshine, because you’re _sick_.”

Will pouted. “I don’t like being sick,” he muttered. “I hate everyone fussing over me when there’s more important stuff to do.”

“First of all, you don’t really get a choice in that, we’re going to look after you until you’re better,” he held up his finger to punctuate, and raised another one. “_Second_, you said yourself there’s nothing to be done around here anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

Technically, Nico was right, but it didn’t really help him much. When he didn’t respond, the other boy sighed.

“_Plus_, if we’re stuck in here, it means we can do _this_ all day.” He pointed out, leaning forward so he was lying opposite the blonde, their faces inches apart. Will smiled, and then sighed and held up his hand between them, making Nico raise an eyebrow.

“We can’t. You’ll get sick too, if you stay like that.” Will muttered, tiredly.

This time, it was Nico’s turn to pout. “I don’t care.”

“_I_ do, I’m not getting you sick just ‘cause I’m lonely.”

“You’re not _letting_ me do anything, I’m just ignoring you.” Sighed Nico, but he got up anyway and moved to the chair by the bed, settling for a brief kiss. “What do _you_ want to do, then?”

“I don’t know,” replied Will, after a moment of consideration.

“Helpful, thanks.”

“Sorry,” said Will with a grin, not sorry at all. Nico leaned forward and propped his head on his hands.

“Come on, I’m currently your slave for the day, so we can do whatever you want.” He prompted. Will considered for a few more seconds then grinned.

“You could teach me Italian,” he pointed out, and Nico rolled his eyes.

“Seriously-“

“Please?” Will did his best attempt at puppy dog eyes. “Just, like, a few phrases?”

For a few seconds Nico just stared at him, as if questioning his resolve, and then he sighed. “Fine. What you want to know?”

Will paused think about it. He hadn’t expected to get this far; apparently being sick did have it’s up sides. “How would I introduce myself? Like, ‘hi, I’m Will’?” He asked, finally, deciding to keep it simple.

“Ciao, sono Will.” Said Nico. “Or, mi chiamo Will. Either one.”

“What about ‘this is my boyfriend, Nico’?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Questo è mio ragazzo, Nico.”

“How about ‘I love you’?”

“Depends on the context and who you’re saying it to-“

Will gave him a deadpan look. “How do I say ‘I love _you_’?”

Nico felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. “Ti amo.”

“Ti amo.” Will repeated back to him, grinning. Nico suppressed a laugh.

“Ti amo.” He repeated back for a first time, before sighing. “Why don’t we do something else?” He suggest. Will looked like he was going to disagree for a second, but then he shrugged.

“We could _read_. Or, more accurately, _you_ could read to _me_.” He offered. “I bet you missed out on a ton of good books.”

Nico still found it kind of weird to talk about his seventy-ish years in limbo, mostly because he couldn’t really explain any of it properly, but he’d mostly gotten used to the fact that he’d missed a lot of stuff. “I’ve read a lot of good books,” he argued, albeit it mostly jokingly. The only books he’d really bothered to read where the ones they made him read in school.

“Mhm.” Said Will, raising an eyebrow. “How many of those did you read optionally?”

“… Not the point.”

“Look, we have books in the Apollo cabin. I can introduce you to much better books than whatever you had to read in school.”

“It wouldn’t be hard, all we read in school was, like, Shakespeare and stuff.” Nico shrugged.

“Watch it,” said Will, using a faux-warning tone. “That’s my brother you’re talking about.”

Nico snorted, but conceded and left the room. A couple minutes later, he returned with a book in hand. “I was advised by Kayla to start with this one.” He said, holding it up.

“Great,” said Will, smiling as Nico sat back down on the chair.

“The Friday before winter break…” he started.

#

By the time they finished the book, it was already dark outside. Will was watching Nico with a small smile on his face, distracted by the way the boy focused as he read and sounded out the words. He got extra credit for putting up with blonde’s occasional sneezing or coughing fits, too. As soon as he closed the book, Will pushed himself up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“What was that for?” Asked Nico, looking surprised as Will let himself fall back onto the bed.

“No reason. I just love you.” Grinned Will. “Also, you’re cute.”

Nico made a soft humming sound in response and tossed the book onto the side table, leaning forward to prop his chin up with his hand above Will’s face. After a second of studying him, he leaned over and brushed his boyfriends hair out of his eyes. “I love you, too, then.” He said gently, and he moved his hand to brush his thumb over the other boys lips.

Will’s breath hitched in his throat and his heart did a backflip in his chest as Nico kissed him lightly, first on his nose, then his mouth, and then his jaw, moving around.

“I’m contagious,” he breathed finally, swallowing hard.

“Mm-hm.”

“You- you might get sick,” he added as the kisses moved down to his neck, trying not to get distracted.

“I’ll take that risk.”

“My siblings could walk in at any- any- any moment.” He drew in a deep breath, but he could feel his resolve shattering.

“Alright.”

Will made a small sound and looped his hand smoothly around Nico’s waist, pulling the boy on top of him. Nico laughed, but readjusted himself so his legs were either side of his boyfriends waist.

“I believe I won this round.” He said smugly, hovering inches above Will’s face with a grin.

“Shut up, death boy.” Will muttered, threading his hands through the other boys hair and pulling him down so their lips crashed together.

Nobody was particularly surprised to find them still entangled in each other the next morning.


	8. Endurance

“What… are you wearing?” Asked Nico, hoping his tone didn’t sound too insulting, but also not really caring. Will Solace was standing in front of him, wearing a tank top, shorts, trainers, and an orange sweatband across his forehead.

“They’re my gym clothes,” said Will, brightly.

“We don’t have a gym here.”

Will gave him a look, like, _seriously_?

“I know. But they’re also my running clothes.” He tugged at the shirt, which said _sun, sweat, and sand_ in bold letters, like that would make anymore sense to Nico. Sure, he knew that normal people had ‘running gear’, but here at camp, they basically only practised in their normal clothes or some armour.

Mostly he was just trying not to look at Will’s exposed arms. Or legs. Or anywhere that wasn’t his face.

“Alright,” he said finally, deciding not to push it. “So, what, you’re going on a _run_?”

“Yep.” Will raised his eyebrows. “Why is that such a weird concept?”

“I just don’t see why anyone would go on a run without having to, that’s all.” Nico shrugged. Will snorted.

“Oh, of course.”

Nico frowned. “Of course what?”

“Of course you’d be confused by me going on a run,” clarified Will, smirking now. “Pretty much the only exercise you do these days is _training_. With your sword, more often than not. Can you even use a bow?” He tilted his head towards the archery range, and Nico folded his arms, not wanting to admit that he was almost as bad as the blonde when it came to archery.

“That’s because all the other types of exercise suck,” he retorted, scowling. Sword fighting was fun, and came easy to him thanks to the tough training he’d gone through. Everything else seemed like a waste of energy, because he was already pretty good at them. He didn’t see the point in doing them while he was still technically ‘in recovery’ after the whole statue thing.

“All exercise is good for you,” Will said, briefly switching into Doctor Mode, before rolling his eyes. “Plus, running can be _fun_.”

“It’s sweaty and gross.”

“You’re ridiculous, you know that?” Will picked up his water bottle off the side, a hint of amusement in his tone. “I was just coming to tell you that _apparently_ Coach Hedge is coming back to Camp for some meeting in the next few days. I figured you guys were close, right?”

“Right,” said Nico, although he wasn’t sure how to talk to Hedge now that they didn’t have the whole trying-to-save-the-world thing to bond over anymore. Really, he just wanted to know that the satyr was settling into a relatively quiet life in LA with Mellie and the kid, but he doubted it. “That’s great news,” he said, anyway.

Will hummed in what seemed to be agreement, before holding his hands up. “Alright, I’ll leave you to your sword play,” he said, backing away. Nico furrowed his brow.

“I’m training,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. “If I recall correctly, my ‘sword play’ saved you from getting killed by six Romans not that long ago, if you’d remember.”

“Please,” Will scoffed, “I would’ve been fine. They wouldn’t’ve been able to catch me. Know why?”

“If you say because you run-“

“Because I run regularly,” finished Will, looking smug. Nico gave him an exasperated look, which only seemed to fuel his amusement. “Come on, you’re just sulky because you aren’t a great runner. It’s fine.”

“That’s not at all true-“

“Hey, don’t worry about it. We all have flaws.” Will gave him a sympathetic smile, although the laughter in his eyes gave him away. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I’m a great runner,” said Nico, which was true, assuming he wasn’t exhausted from sleep deprivation, oxygen deprivation, or any other kind of vital deprivation, really. Will just raised an eyebrow.

“Sure.”

“I _am_,” insisted Nico, before wincing a little as his own tone. He constantly found himself surprised by Solace’s willingness to tease him- everyone else seemed to treat him like some scary presence who could decapitate them the second they said something wrong. And he could, but he probably wouldn’t.

“If you’re such a great runner, fine.” Will folded his arms, locking their eyes together. “Come with me. We can have a race, see who’s actually better.”

“No,” said Nico, although he was sorely tempted. Will raised an eyebrow.

“Scared?”

“No, but I did put on all this armour just so I could train, and I intend to use it,” he pointed out, gesturing to himself. Will gave him a once over that made butterflies resurrect in his stomach.

“That’s fair, actually,” the son of Apollo noted, and Nico resisted the urge to make a snide comment. “Alright- tomorrow morning, then. I usually go for an early morning jog in the summer.”

“I usually go for an early morning nap, but I guess I could make an exception,” conceded Nico, after a second. “Tomorrow morning, then.”

“Great, I’ll get you up. Five o’clock, sharp.” Will grinned, like that was a normal and not at all sadistic thing to say.

“_Five_?”

#

After a tiny bit of back and forth, Nico managed to push back the run until six am, but unsurprisingly his alarm going off still made him wanted to reconsider his life choices and then kill himself anyway.

He let it ring for a solid five minutes before the sound got too annoying for him, and he caved and got out of bed. He didn’t have any special running gear like Will had, and frankly you couldn’t pay him to wear any, so he just pulled on his usual black jeans and t-shirt.

When he opened the door, he found himself wincing at the light outside. Surely, _surely_, it was too early for the sun to already be up already, but he could clearly see it rising over Half-Blood Hill. Will, wearing yet another brightly coloured tank top and shorts, wasn’t helping.

Maybe he should’ve worn sunglasses.

“You look cheery,” beamed Will, who looked way too awake for this time of day.

Nico barely supressed a groan. “It is way too early for this.”

“Come on, I do it every day!”

“You’re a masochist.”

Will’s eyes glinted as he moved out of the way of the door. Nico took a moment to genuinely consider just conceding and going back to bed, but… he’d kind of staked his honour on this. Plus, he was already awake.

Sighing, he stepped outside and let the door close behind him. “Fine. I’m awake. Where do we run?”

“We have to do stretches first,” pointed out Will, brightly. “Otherwise you risk pulling a muscle.”

“I’ll take the pulled muscle.”

Will’s expression still didn’t falter as he started to do stretches, leaning side to side like he was in a yoga video. He shirt rode up his stomach every time he did it.

_Look at his face_, Nico reminded himself, although that was arguably even more awkward given how Will was moving. After about a minute, Will straightened up and put his hands on his hips. “Are you really not going to stretch?” He asked, his cheeks already slightly pink.

“Nope.”

Will gave him a once over, and for a second Nico thought he was going to call out the jeans, but then he shrugged. “Fine. Don’t come crying to me when you pull a muscle.”

Nico just folded his arms. “Where are we running?”

“Usually, I got around the camp borders and up to the strawberry fields,” explained Will, shoving his hands in his pockets. “But since we’re racing, I figured we skip the fields and stop at the lake.”

“Sounds good,” said Nico. The place where they kept the canoes wasn’t _that_ far away. Maybe they’d be done quick enough for him to go back to sleep before his day officially begun.

Will moved to stand next to him, like it was a proper race. He counted them down, and on go, Nico propelled himself forward as fast as possible.

Maybe running wasn’t _all_ bad, he allowed, as he sprinted around the camp. There was something refreshingly distracting about the feeling of the wind against his face, and the ground beneath his feet. It lacked the thinking skills that sword fighting did, but maybe that was a benefit – it certainly had been while he’d been training with the ghosts.

Back then, he’d been so focused on everything – the fresh loss of his sister, the realisation he was completely alone, _Percy Jackson_ – it had been easy to throw himself into the intense training without having to think. It had also made him easy to manipulate, but he tried not to think about that too often.

He interrupted his own thoughts as he realised he’d reached the lake, slamming to a stop. He’d been so distracted he hadn’t paid attention to any of the run.

Glancing around him, he realised that Will was a surprising distance behind him, clearly running as fast as possible. Had he really been running that fast?

“Gods of Olympus,” gasped Will as he came to a stop, doubling over to press his hand to his side. “You weren’t kidding.”

“I never kid,” said Nico, which wasn’t true, before frowning. “Are you okay?”

“Yep,” Will said, in what was clearly meant to be a reassuring tone, but the fact he was still panting and didn’t straighten up kind of nullified it. “You’re just… really fast.”

“I’m a good runner,” said Nico, shrugging.

“I thought _I_ was a good runner,” said Will. “You- you are some kind of superhuman machine.”

“We’re all super human here,” pointed out Nico, before bending over a little so he was more on Will’s level. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah,” Will straightened up, brushing his hair out of his face, and forced a smile. “I’m fine. You just winded me a little.”

“You are an awful liar,” noted Nico, and something in the other boys face flickered.

“I’m not lying,” he said, his expression morphing into one of surprise. Nico raised his eyebrow.

“Yeah, you are,” he said flatly. “What’s_ actually_ up?”

“Nothing,” said Will, but he seemed to deflate. “I just thought I was getting pretty good at running.”

“You are pretty good,” said Nico, surprised. He hadn’t expected the problem to be _self-consciousness_. “I’m just-“

“Better?” Suggested Will, with a wry smile.

Nico paused for a second. “I have better endurance,” he said, finally. “I trained with ghosts. They have a lot of… methods.”

“Ghosts?” Repeated Will, looking surprised, but Nico didn’t really want to go into that now, so he glossed over it.

“I learnt how to pace myself. It’s all fun and games being able to go fast, but if you can only sustain it for a few minutes- it’s useless.”

“So, like, the tortoise and the hare,” said Will, before sighing. “It’s fine, I’m just being silly. I’m just- it’s fine.” There was a pause, and Nico gave him a pointed look. He didn’t know how to prompt people to talk to him, he’d never been good at it, but he hoped the look would be enough. It seemed to be, because after a few seconds, Will cracked. “I just- you have your sword fighting, and most of my cabin has their archery, and Lou Ellen has their magic- and I don’t know, I feel like all I’m good for is healing.”

“Healing is useful,” said Nico, before wincing internally at how awful that sounded. The look on Will’s face suggested he knew it, but he still appreciated the effort.

“Thanks.”

“No, I mean- you’re skills are useful, they just aren’t… physical.”

“Maybe I want some physical skills as well,” suggested Will, looking mildly amused, and Nico shuffled awkwardly.

He had an internal debate with himself, but his irrational side won. “I mean, if you really want- I could teach some stuff,” he said, and then rushed on. “Like- some kind of weaponry. And how to, um, increase your endurance and stuff. If you want.”

Will looked surprised. “You don’t have to- I’m just being whiney, you don’t have to go out of your way to try and help me.”

“It’s not out of my way,” Nico said immediately, before mentally yelling at himself to be more _subtle_. “I just mean- it’d be fun to have something to do, you know? Since I’ll be here for a while. If you’re up to it, I mean.”

“I’m up to it,” said Will, still looking slightly bewildered, but clearly warming up to the idea. “It sounds fun.”

“Great,” said Nico, awkwardly.

“You can’t teach me archery, though,” Will added, grinning at him. “It’s useless. I gave up a long time ago.”

“That’s fine, believe me, I won’t be teaching anyone archery for a while,” Nico assured him, unable to stop himself from smiling too. He glanced towards the cabins. People would probably be waking up soon. “Race you to the pavilion?” he offered, and Will’s expression changed to one of fear.

“Oh gods, no.” He shook his head, wrapping his arm around his stomach. “One round of physical torture is quite enough, thanks.”


	9. Reflection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to a prompt, but it didn't fit as well as I hoped. Still, I really like how it turned out!

Will suppressed a groan as he opened the cupboard and found the nectar store empty. He couldn’t get too frustrated, not when there were so many people around. Instead, he just stuck his head around the door and looked at Austin, who was looking inside one of the compartments. He still looked mildly irritated at having to leave his music, but he’d come as soon as he was asked. 

“Any chance there’s any ambrosia in there?” Asked Will, hopefully, but Austin just shook his head.

“Nope,” he said, popping the ‘p’ and turning to face him. “We’re fresh out.”

“Great.” Will couldn’t help the exasperation that leaked into his tone, and he didn’t try. His fingers tapped impatiently against the cupboard door as he tried to think.

No ambrosia or nectar made healing people a lot more difficult, especially since he was basically working on his own. Unfortunately, it happened, especially during summer when the camp was at it’s busiest and they had an influx of new and naïve campers. He didn’t have _time_ to deal with all the injuries from training and the stupid lava climbing wall. Especially when they wouldn’t get anymore supplies until the end of the week.

Will pressed a hand to his temple. “Alright, new plan. Any mild injuries we bandage and get out the door. Anything that _needs_ treatment, we’ll have to go with unicorn draught. But a limited amount – we really need to not run out of at least_ one_ thing, alright?”

“Got it.” Austin gave him a mock salute and turned to make his way back to the cluster of people by the door.

Will shut the cupboard and leaned against it, letting out a frustrated breath of air. He hated having to send away campers who were still injured, but all things considered, they could all handle having a few minor scrapes. It didn’t stop some of them complaining, though.

He glanced up when someone new walked in, already tensing in anticipation, but he relaxed when he realised it was Nico. The son of Hades edged awkwardly around the small crowd and beelined towards him.

“I’m guessing you’re not going to have enough time for a training session?” He hummed once he got close enough, and Will rolled his eyes.

“At this point I’ll be lucky to have enough time to eat,” he huffed, and Nico grinned at him.

“Tell you what, if you’re still stuck in here at dinner, I’ll bring you some food,” he offered, touching the other boys arm lightly. Will couldn’t help but smile slightly at the contact, but it quickly fell back to a scowl.

“If I’m still here at dinner, just take me out. Like, with a sword.” He muttered, and Nico rolled his eyes.

“Don’t be dramatic, that’s my job.”

“I’m not, I’m being serious.” Will folded his arms. “If I’m not done, just end me. I’ll thank you.”

“Well, as nice as a ‘thank you’ sounds…” Nico frowned at him. “What’s up? You aren’t normally this sulky.”

“I’m not being sulky-“

“Petulent? Whiny?”

Will tried not to let the corner of his mouth twitch up. “I’m just… frustrated, okay? We’re out of ambrosia and nectar until the end of the week, which makes dealing with all these injuries especially fun. And I haven’t even started on any of my duties as head councillor.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I’m just stressed.”

Nico thought for a second. Will loved the way his brow wrinkled when he did that. “_I_ could help you,” he offered, poking his boy friends chest. “Somehow. I’m sure you could find something.”

Will gave in and smiled. “No, don’t worry about it,” he assured his boyfriend, catching his hand and looping their fingers together. “It’s fine. The rest of the cabin can deal with the daily inspections and stuff- we never win those, anyway- and I’ve already roped Austin into helping me in here. I’ll figure it out.”

Nico hummed in response, running his thumb across the other boys hand. “But you’re still stressed. And that sucks.”

“It does suck,” Will agreed, making his voice solemn, before sighing. “I just- I keep thinking about Michael, and Lee. They both- they both handled this stuff so easily. I don’t understand how they did it. I feel like no matter how much I do, there’s always more.”

“That’s probably because they had _you_ taking care of the infirmary for them,” noted Nico, rolling his eyes. “It’s probably a lot easier to deal with all of that stuff if you aren’t _also_ the on-call doctor for literally everything.”

“Well, they both taught archery during their time,” countered Will. “And also, they actually fought in the war-“ he cut himself off, and Nico shot him a look of pity.

“I know,” he said, softly.

“It’s not-“ Will drew in a deep breath to ground himself. “It’s just, comparitively, what I do… it seems so minor. And half the time I can’t even manage to do it right.”

“I’ve got a guy with two sewn-on arms that would beg to differ on the ‘minor’ point,” countered Nico, before switching to a more concerned demeanor. “It’s hardly your fault the infirmary ran out of mediciene. That would’ve happened regardless of who was looking after it, ‘cause a lot of people _needed_ it. That’s how this stuff works. And everything you’ve done- in _both_ wars- has been integral to us surviving, you _know_ that. Without a healer- so many people would be dead.”

“I- I do know that,” Will sighed, leaning back against the cupboard without breaking the contact between his hands. “I know. It’s just that I’m feeling frustrated at myself because of all the injuries, and that’s making me feel really self-deprecating.”

“Good sense of self awareness,” noted Nico teasingly, but he smiled. “You know these injuries aren’t your fault. Blame the real lava wall. Or the deadly weapons. Or the hay fever pandemic.”

“It’s only a pandemic if it’s a new disease.”

“The point _is_, it’s dumb to blame yourself for stuff you can’t control. And there’s no point sulking over how ‘bad’ you are just because you’re getting frustrated.”

“I’m not sulking,” muttered Will, although he knew Nico was right.

“You are sulking.”

“I’m not.”

“You _are_.”

“Well, fine,” Will shrugged, letting his expression lighten up a little. “_Maybe_ I’m sulking.”

Nico grinned at him. “Yeah, _maybe_.” His expression shifted into something more concerned. “I do wish I could help, though.”

“You did help,” Will said, immediately and honestly. “You always help.”

“All I did was talk to you,” countered Nico, raising an eyebrow.

“All I needed was talking,” said Will, before amending it a bit. “To you, specifically.”

“Hm.” Nico grinned, and moved forward to press their lips together in a quick kiss. “In that case, I should probably go and let you get back to work. There are people’s elbows that need saving.”

“Haha,” deadpanned Will, but he grinned. “Alright, fine. Abandon me.”

“I’m not abandoning you.” Nico rolled his eyes. “In fact, I promise, if you’re still here at dinner, I’ll bring some food over and we can have some alone time. Okay?”

“But what if I’m not here?” Asked Will, pouting. Nico shrugged.

“Then we’ll get some alone time after it. Cross my heart.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“I’m fully expecting you to.”

Will grinned and kissed his boyfriend goodbye, before steeling himself for work again.


	10. Preparation Panic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing an older version over Nico and Will... I think it turned out pretty well :) I still definitely prefer closer-to-canon-age solangelo, but I might do more around this age to explore the dynamic.

Nico was more than a little surprised to get home and see his room looking like a clothes bomb had gone off in it. His first thought was that it could’ve been a monster, but his second was that that was a stupid idea.

Since moving into the flat with Will six months ago, he’d discovered that the blond was surprisingly thorough when it came to cleanliness. He supposed it came from running the infirmary for so long, because it definitely hadn’t come from the Apollo cabin. If anyone made a mess in the house, it was Nico, although it was usually limited to odd socks and glasses he’d forgotten about.

Right now, however, their room looked worse than it had ever done – even when they’d first moved in and had boxes of stuff scattered everywhere. Discarded shirts were strewn about, accompanied by the odd tie here and there, and a few suit jackets had been hastily thrown over chairs.

Nico hadn’t even been aware they owned this much stuff.

Sitting on the bed amidst the chaos was Anna, one of Will’s friends from med school. Her girlfriend worked in the army, so was barely home, which meant she often didn’t have a partner to go with to any of the socialite gatherings the university threw to introduce the students to people. Since Nico unambiguously sucked at those kind of things, her and Will usually went together.

Which was why she was here _now_, Nico remembered – they had some sort of big thing involving world renown biochemists and surgeons to attend tonight.

“Hey, Anna.” He nodded in her direction.

“Nico.” She smiled at him warmly. “I just got here, but I think the damage has been done. I guess Will’s a little nervous about tonight.”

“Apparently.” Nico picked up one of the shirts and absentmindedly began folding it. “It’s a big deal, though, right?”

“Oh, massive.” Anna nodded immediately. “It’s our chance to make a good impression on any potential employers- or future donors depending on how things go. We have to look, act, and speak the part.”

Nico could tell she was dressed to impress, with her red hair done up and wearing a floor length dress. Before he could say anything, Will appeared at the door of the ‘walk-in wardrobe’ (a converted office off the bedroom) holding up a dark red shirt with purple edging that Nico couldn’t remember ever seeing before. If he had, he probably would’ve burnt it.

“What about this one?” Will asked, thrusting it out.

“Um…” Anna faltered, and Nico decided to take this into his own hands.

“No.” He said, firmly. “Absolutely not. How long have you had that? It looks – in the nicest way possible – awful.”

“Thank _gods_ you’re home.” Will tossed the shirt away in response to the criticism, looking relieved. “You have to help me.”

“Sure,” said Nico, a little surprised and a little _amused_ as Will took his hands. The healer could handle torn off limbs and angry gods, but a party? Apparently, that was too much. Nico decided to hide the amusement. “You look fine in all of these, though. Except the red one. And that stripy one in the corner- where did you even get that?”

“It was a gift,” replied Will, sounding exhausted, glancing at it. “And it’s not about looking _fine_, it’s about _being great_. Making a good impression.” He dropped Nico’s hands to grab another shirt from nearby. “What about this one? Only I don’t know if it’ll be light or dark, so I don’t know if it’ll suit the lighting-“

“_Will_.” Nico made his voice as firm as possible, and Will turned back to him. “Calm down. You’ll be fine. You’ll make a great impression. Nobodies even going to care what you look like under specific lighting. Why are you so nervous?”

Will let out a long sigh, deflating. “I don’t know. Stuff like this just stresses me out.”

“You’re Will-_freaking_-Solace. You’ve dealt with-“ Nico faltered for a second, glancing at Anna, before continuing. “You’ve dealt with _so much._ And this is what freaks you out?”

“I know, I know. I’m being ridiculous,” Will sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I just need to pick a shirt and be done with it.”

“Exactly,” said Nico, smiling what he hoped was a sweet smile.

“What about the shirt you wore the other day- the white one?” Suggested Anna, from the bed. “It’s simple.”

Will shook his head. “Can’t. It’s dirty and Nico broke the washing machine.”

Nico blinked, and frowned. “I what?”

“Although actually, I have a pale green shirt that might work.” Will suddenly looked thoughtful, and turned to dive back into the wardrobe.

“First of all, I cannot believe you still have more clothes. Second, _what_ did I do to the washing machine?”

Will reappeared, now wearing a soft green shirt that looked great on him. “How do I look?” He asked, holding out his arms. Anna gave him an appreciative clap from the bed.

“You look amazing,” Nico assured him, leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek. “They’re going to love you.”

Will smiled, seeming to relax a little. “Thanks. And by the way, you put too many towels in it and overloaded it.” He explained.

“You can overload a washing machine?”

“_Yes_.”

“The more you know,” said Nico, surprised. Will rolled his eyes.

“It’s not that big a deal, but ideally we need to fix it soon. I hate not having a major appliance working.”

“Believe me, I know,” Nico assured him. He put that down to another side effect of the camp – if an appliance broke down in the infirmary, it was time for panic. “I’ll make sure it gets fixed.”

Will paused, giving him a suspicious look. “Okay,” he said, after a second. “Just don’t let Leo fix it. I know he means well, but he’ll go completely overboard.”

“But the washing machine will end up fixed,” countered Nico, before sighing as Will fixed him with a firm look. “Fine, I won’t get Leo to do it.”

“Thank you.” Will smiled at him, then glanced around, his expression morphing into one of concern. “Wow, I _really_ made a mess in here.”

“I finally understand the saying ‘looks like a bombs gone off’.” Agreed Nico, folding his arms. Will’s cheeks went a few shades pinker.

“I was just- nervous, I guess.” He said rubbing the back of his neck.

“You _guess_?” said Nico, incredulously, before sighing and letting his arms fall to his side. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll deal with it while you’re out.”

“Seriously? You can leave it for me, when I get back-“

“I know how this stuff works, you won’t be back until, like, midnight, at the absolute earliest-“

“Yeah, but still, you don’t have to-“

“Will.” Nico held up his hand to shut the other boy up. “I’m offering to clean the house. Don’t push it.”

Will grinned at him. “Fine,” he conceded, backing down. “I’ll go. Wish us luck.”

“Good luck.” Nico moved forward and pressed their lips together quickly. “You’ve got this- both of you.”

Will squeezed his hand, and Anna smiled at him as they left. Nico waited until they were outside the flat to turn to look at the mess.

He was going to be here all night.

And he was _definitely_ calling Leo about the washing machine.


	11. Hidden Moments

In theory, both Will and Nico knew they were going to have to stop sneaking around at _some_ point. The camp wasn’t that big, and people already had their suspicions about the whole situation. The entirety of the Apollo cabin were just waiting for them to slip up and reveal themselves.

In _practice_, the sneaking around made the whole relationship feel almost_ safer_, like they could somehow use that to protect it from everything that happened in the real world.

And honestly, sometimes a little escapism was exactly what they both needed.

That didn’t make coordinating their ‘meet-ups’ any easier.

Nico kept his head down as he ducked around the back of the infirmary, as if that would stop anyone seeing him. Thankfully, the only people nearby were too entranced in their volleyball game to pay attention to him trying to sneak past.

The back of the Big House itself was empty as always, which Nico didn’t find at all surprising as he waded through the weeds. Between the waist-high, untamed plants and the wall of trees that lined it, the area was about as fun to climb through as trying to have a feast with a hoard of skeletons.

Which was to say, _not fun at all_.

Still, he tried not to get _too_ frustrated as he awkwardly untangled his leg from yet another weed. It was a convenient passage way to the infirmaries little-used back door, which meant he could slip into one of the back rooms without anybody seeing him. And right now, that was all he really cared about.

The door swung open just as he reached it, and a pair of tanned, freckly hands practically hurled him into the room to give him a hug.

“Hi,” he mumbled trying to keep his stomach from fluttering. For some reason, hugs felt different than just kissing – softer, somehow, more _intimate. _

Will pulled away and gave him a quick once over, taking in the bits of leaf and plants that were now stuck to his boyfriend as Nico closed the door behind him. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly, picking one of the leaves off him. “I’m probably not going to be able to get away from the infirmary at all today-“

“Don’t worry about it.” Nico stepped forward and pressed his lips quickly to the other boy’s. “I figured as much.”

“I hate summer,” Will sighed softly, tugging him even closer so they were basically nose to nose.

“No, you don’t,” snorted Nico.

“No, I don’t,” agreed Will, laughing softly. They were closer enough that he could feel Nico’s breath on his lips. “But I _do_ hate not being able to see you often.”

“It sucks,” agreed Nico, reaching up to rest his hand on the other boys chest. “So instead of _talking _about it, why don’t we make use of what little time we do have? How long do you have?”

“Probably ten, fifteen minutes, tops.” Will shrugged apologetically. It wasn’t as long as either of them would like, but it’d work.

“Better than nothing,” Nico said aloud, pushing himself onto his toes a little so he could brush their lips together briefly. “Thank the gods for pointless back doors, I guess.”

“Technically, it’s not pointless,” Will mumbled, keeping his voice soft. “We use it to-”

“Don’t tell me,” interrupted Nico quickly. He was pretty sure he knew _exactly _what they used that door for, and he didn’t want to think about it right now. Instead, he curled his hand into a fist, his fingers tangled in the other boys shirt, and slammed their lips together. Thankfully, Will conceded immediately, melting into the kiss and sliding his own arms around the other boys waist.

After a second, Nico moved his hands up to tangle it in Will’s hair, tugging at the strands as he pressed their bodies even closer together. Will responded immediately, hands tightening on Nico’s back, stumbling forward so that they bumped into the wall.

Nico let out a soft bubble of laughter as the medic mumbled a soft apology into the kiss, not bothering to respond. Kissing Will always made him feel hot inside, like he’d downed a bowl of hot soup, and even now his stomach fluttered at the contact.

He was just about to reluctantly break for air when he heard a voice calling out for Will in the hallway, and he froze for a second before pulling away. Will had an equally surprised-and-kind-of-unsure expression on his face, and he tilted his head slightly towards the door.

A second later, the voice called out again.

Will cursed internally, quickly pushing himself away from the wall and trying to straighten up his clothes. “_Cupboard_,” he hissed at Nico, who looked like a deer caught in headlights, and a second later the son of Hades sank into the shadow of the wall.

Technically, Will had meant _walk_ to the cupboard, but he supposed that worked. He was still trying to tame his hair when the door clicked open and he spun around to face Austin, who looked confused.

“Will?”

“Hey,” said Will, trying to act calm. “What’s up?”

“I… was looking for you,” his brother explained uncertainly, glancing curiously around the room. “What are you doing here?”

_Lie, lie, lie_. “I was… looking for extra sheets.” He said, cringing internally. “I figured we might have some in here.”

It was a bad lie. Austin raised his eyebrow, as if he couldn’t believe _that_ was the best excuse he could come up with. “Sheets.” He repeated, slowly, and Will wished the floor would swallow him whole.

“Yeah. You know. In case we… run out.”

“Right.” Austin’s face remained completely unconvinced. Will couldn’t blame him.

_Alright, new lie. Or… new half truth? _

He sighed as if he’d been caught in the act, letting his shoulders slump as the tension left his body. “Fine. I wasn’t looking for sheets,” he conceded, and Austin tilted his head and widened his eyes in faux surprise.

“You _weren’t_? But I was so convinced!” A smile tugged at his lips, and he rolled his eyes. “What _were_ you doing in here, then? On your… own?”

His voice lifted up a little at last part as if he was expecting Will to correct him about it, but Will pretended he didn’t notice, keeping his deflated stance. “I was hiding,” he admitted, as if was something he really didn’t want to talk to about. Austin, true to form, just seemed to get _more_ curious about it.

“Hiding?” He repeated, his interest piqued, and Will let out another breath.

“It’s just- it’s been a really busy day- week, really. And I figured, y’know, while there was a lull in patients… I could sneak off and just take a quick breather.” He folded his arms. “I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t need me for a bit – I’m sorry. I know it was kind of dumb-“

“No, no,” Austin held up his hands, his expression softening a little. All of Will’s siblings acknowledged how much he worked, especially since it was the main reason _they_ didn’t have to. “I get it, you’ve been working yourself to the bone this week. I was just confused that you disappeared-“

“Yeah, sorry.” Will scratched the back of his neck nervously. “I, uh, probably should’ve mentioned it, I know, I just-“

“Wanted some alone time. That’s _totally_ fine.” Austin backed up a little towards the door. “I’m sorry I interrupted-“

“Oh, it’s not-“

“Hey, you’re allowed some alone time. If anyone deserves it, it’s you.” He reached the door frame and cracked a smile. “Just, y’know, come out when you… feel better. We haven’t got a lot of patients right now anyway.”

“Okay,” Will smiled sheepishly. “I will. And, Austin-_ thanks_.”

“Don’t worry about it. You deserve the break.” Austin assured him, reaching for the door. Will tried to keep his semi-guilty expression on his face until it shut properly.

Technically, he wasn’t faking it, he _did_ feel guilty for sneaking away from his duties without telling anyone.

Not _that_ guilty, because, y’know. He got to kiss Nico.

But a _little_ guilty.

Speaking of- he made his way over to the closet and opened it smoothly, barely managing to hold a laugh in at the sight. A disgruntled-looking Nico was balancing awkwardly on the boxes of medical supplies, squished uncomfortably in the tight space. He scowled when he saw Will’s face.

“Don’t think I don’t see the irony of this,” he muttered, trying to his legs around so they could touch the ground.

“Of what? You hiding?” Will’s mouth twitched. “I have no idea what you’re referring to.”

Nico rolled his eyes but accepted the proffered hand to pull himself out. “You should have bigger closets.”

“Sorry, we forgot to factor hiding demigods into the design plans,” said Will drily, not letting go of his hand. “Besides, it _worked._”

“I probably could’ve just hid outside.”

“Too risky.”

“_How_?”

This time, Will let himself grin, tugging his boyfriend closer. “Hey. I got Austin to _leave,_ right?”

“Yeah, by lying,” hummed Nico, raising an eyebrow.

“It was a half-truth.”

“Isn’t Apollo the god of _full_ truths?”

“Whatever.” Will dropped his hands to hook his fingers in Nico’s belt loops, tugging him even closer. “The point is, we can continue what we started.”

“Hm. Until you need to leave again,” pointed out Nico, leaning against him.

“I still brought us some time,” muttered Will, tilting the other boys chin up and kissing him softly. “I intend to take full advantage of it.”

“_That_ I can get behind.”


	12. A Baking Disaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This... was meant to be more halloween-y than it was. But I love it anyway! Also, I love writing from Will's pov in a more positive (read: mindlessly fluffy) fic. And - it gives a few hints towards Will and Naomi's relationship, which I have a lot of feelings about.

“It’s aliiiiiiive!”

Will paused in front of the kitchen door. Of all the things he’d expected to come home to, a Frankenstein reference would be _at least_ in the bottom three.

Especially one that sounded like it came from Nico.

He glanced at the clock. It was ten a.m., like he’d thought.

He couldn’t remember Nico optionally getting up before eleven since… well, ever.

He steeled himself for the worse and pushed open the door with his free hand, glancing around cautiously. His first realisation was that the room smelled pretty good. The second was that his boyfriend was _baking._

“Uh. Nico?” Will stepped into the room and tried not to flinch when Nico spun around, wielding a wooden spoon like a weapon. He softened when he took in the sight.

“Will.” Surprise coloured his tone.

“I’m home,” said Will redundantly, dropping the grocery bags on the table. “What are you doing?”

“I- oh.” A soft pink tinged Nico’s cheek as he glanced behind himself to the stove. Will tried to suppress the sudden urge to kiss him. “I wasn’t expecting you back for a while, so I figured I’d, uh…” he shuffled awkwardly. “I figured I’d bake something. Y’know, for Halloween.”

“I didn’t know you baked,” said Will, crossing the kitchen to get a better look.

“I don’t usually, I found a recipe,” said Nico, reluctantly moving out of the way. Will frowned at the pan.

It was meant to be a chocolate _something_, he was pretty sure, but the pan was three-quarters full and bubbling wildly, looking more like something you’d find in the cauldron of a cartoon witch.

“Is it meant to look like that?” He asked, hoping he didn’t sound too mean. The fact Nico tried baking at all was _adorable_, he didn’t want to dissuade that.

“Sure,” said Nico, but Will couldn’t tell if he actually thought that or not. “They’re Frankenstein-cakes. They’re just matching the aesthetic.” He prodded one of the bubbles with the wooden spoon. It didn’t pop. “I just wanted to do something nice for you and your mom since you’re letting me stay here.”

“Aw.” Will pressed a quick kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek. “That’s so sweet. You didn’t have to do that.” Nico shrugged, and Will let his eyes fall back down to the pan. “Seriously, though, how much baking soda did you put in this?”

“I don’t know.” Nico glanced over at the recipe book. “The right amount, I think? Anyway, you’re back early.”

“Oh, yeah-“ Will tore his eyes away from the totally-not-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen and turned back to his boyfriend. “Uh, shopping took less time that I expected. Honestly, I was expecting to be home before you woke up anyway.” He raised his eyebrow questioningly. Nico shrugged.

“I overheard you talking to your mother last night about how you’d both be out this morning, so I figured if I wanted these to be a surprise I’d get up early and bake them before you got back.”

Will had left the house at nine, at which point Nico had been decidedly asleep, and he wasn’t sure any time after that counted as ‘early’, but he decided to let it go. He still couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. “I’m sorry I ruined the surprise,” he said, twisting to lean against the side. Nico rolled his eyes.

“Well, it’s just typical of you, isn’t it?” He deadpanned, but his lips twitched as he spoke, betraying his amusement.

“I know, I’m awful. I remembered that I could take a shortcut to the shop – disgraceful.”

Nico twisted away to hide his smile, and Will’s grin grew. He took in his boyfriend from the back – he’d gotten dressed already in a black t-shirt and skinny jeans, but his hair still stuck up in fluffy tufts from his bedhead. He wasn’t wearing his jacket, either, leaving his arms bare, and Will could see the scars on his biceps standing out against his pale skin and muscles.

He’d seen his mother’s eyes catch on them, too, last night when they’d arrived, and had thanked every god and goddess he could think of that she didn’t ask about them. She might’ve been okay with the demigod thing, but explaining that his boyfriend had fought the immortal predecessor to werewolves and it _wasn’t even that big of a deal_ in the grand scheme of things would’ve been going to far. Still, he would be eternally grateful to her for suggesting they stay here over Halloween. They barely spent any time together outside of the camp, and he loved the alone time.

Nico turned around again, interrupting his musings, and narrowed his eyes. “Why are you staring at me?”

“I’m not,” said Will smoothly, raising his eyes to meet the other boys.

“You were staring at my arms,” insisted Nico, amusement flooding into his voice. Will tilted his chin up a little.

“Nope,” he said, before swiftly changing the topic. “You know, as much as I love free cake, you really didn’t have to do this.”

“It’s just to say thank you-“

“For letting you stay, I heard.” He placed his hand on Nico’s arm. “You don’t _have _to say thank you, though. You’re my boyfriend, you’re welcome to stay over whenever you want.”

Nico looked like he wanted to say something, but then just switched his attention back to the stove with a soft hum of acknowledgement, his cheeks turning red. Personally, Will thought it was completely unfair that his boyfriend could look cute even when he was embarrassed. _No one_ should be allowed to have that affect on his stomach, but before he could say as much, Nico turned back towards him and held up the wooden spoon.

“Wanna try some?” He offered quietly, his tone clearly trying to be nonchalant.

“Sure,” said Will, grinning, and he placed his hand over the over boy’s to steady the spoon as he ate some of the batter. It tasted _off_ and bitter, but also ridiculously chocolate-ly, which evened it out a little. “Ooh, how much chocolate did you put in this?” He asked, moving the spoon out of the way of his lips. He took in his boyfriend’s expectant look. “It tastes great.”

“Uh, a lot?” Nico couldn’t resist smiling. “I know you have a sweet tooth, even if you pretend to be all healthy.”

“I _am_ healthy.” Will raised his eyebrow. “Why are you smiling like that?”

“You have chocolate on your mouth,” snorted Nico, putting the spoon down.

“Oh-“ _convenient. _“I guess you’ll have to get that for me, huh?”

Nico raised his eyebrow. “You can’t get it for yourself?”

_Gods help me_. “Nico.” Will kept his voice as steady as possible, and used to fingers to tilt his boyfriend’s chin up. “I want you to kiss me.”

Instead of letting him, Will closed the distance himself, pressing their lips together. Nico reacted immediately, leaning into him and tugging at the blonde’s jacket to pull them closer together.

Nico’s lips were cold, as usual, and chapped. When Will looped an arm around his waist he brushed a bare bit of skin on his boyfriend’s back, eliciting a soft, breathy sound that made his heart stutter painfully. Nico shifted to wind his hand around Will’s head as if to hold him there, _as if he’d ever move away_, and his tongue ran cautiously over the other boys bottom lip, tentative and curious. Will opened his mouth immediately, pulling their bodies even closer with a soft sound, as if he could somehow merge them into one body. Every single spot that Nico touched seemed to burn, his stomach fluttering wildly, and in his fervour he found himself stumbling forward unintentionally, pushing his boyfriend into the sideboard.

He wanted to apologise, but that would require breaking the kiss, so instead he just hoped Nico got the message.

He had no idea how long they’d been tangled together when Nico finally pulled away, just that his lungs had started burning and it _still hadn’t been long enough_. He drew in a slow, deep breath, and stared at his boyfriend. Nico’s chest heaved, his pupils blown, his lips swollen and pink and opened slightly as he drew in sharp breaths-

Will dragged his eyes back up. Nico had not missed his momentary distraction. The corner of his mouth twitched up.

“We, uh- we probably shouldn’t do this now,” he said, somehow managing to sound breathless and amused at the same time.

Will felt his cheeks flush. Nico was right, of course- his mother could be home at any moment, and however amazing she was, he was pretty sure being caught making out with his boyfriend would violate some unwritten mother-son confidentiality agreement.

It didn’t mean he liked it. He reluctantly stepped away, shoving his hands in his pockets as if that would keep them in place. “I know,” he said, trying not to let his disappointment leak into his voice.

Nico raised his eyebrows. “Later?” He offered, still grinning a little. “When we know it’s a little more… uh, private?”

“Later.” Repeated Will, trying not to let his eyes catch on the other boy’s lips again. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“Good.” Said Nico firmly, and for a few seconds they just stared at each other. Will was wondering if they were going to kiss again anyway when a loud sizzling sound hissed from the stove and he flinched, turning to look at it.

He swore before he could really register what was happening, and Nico launched forward. The batter had overflown, parts of it landing in the flame, and Will quickly moved to turn the stove off as his boyfriend moved the pan onto the side. The smell of burning chocolate filled the air. Parts of the batter crisped up as it sat on the stove, leaving behind charcoal-esque smudges.

For a few seconds they took in the sight in silence.

“Y’know,” began Nico, finally, “I _might_ have messed up the recipe a little.”

Will turned to look at his boyfriend, who looked more disappointed than surprised, and he couldn’t hold back a laugh. Nico tried to suppress his own laugh, but broke after a few seconds, twisting a way slightly as if to hide it.

“Oh, _gods_,” wheezed Will, squeezing his eyes shut.

Naomi was in for an experience when she arrived home.


	13. Face Paint

“I need you to make me look terrifying,” said Will, watching as Nico opened the cheap face paints. “It’s a matter of pride.”

Nico was probably the last person he would’ve considered asking for help with this, but the other boy had offered as soon as Will had complained to him about being bad at it.

Will had taken one look at the younger boy, who looked like he’d never touched a paintbrush in his life, and had said yes immediately, because he was _that_ desperate to spend time with him.

At the very least, if the face painting went badly, he’d get to enjoy Nico’s company for a while. 

“Pride?” Repeated Nico, raising an eyebrow curiously.

“Me and Lou Ellen have an ongoing competition over who can get the scariest costume,” Will explained, trying to suppress the slight embarrassment he felt. It seemed immature now that he was saying it out loud. “Lou always cheats with the mist, though.”

“Ah,” said Nico, who didn’t sound like he thought it was immature. “I’ll do my best.”

He picked up the sponge, coated with paint, and reached forward, letting his hand hover about an inch away from Will’s face. The briefest, unreadable look flicked across his face, and Will was about to ask if something was wrong when Nico closed the distance.

“You might want to close your eyes,” he said, his voice surprising flat.

Will complied. They sat in comfortable silence for either a few seconds or a few minutes – Will really couldn’t tell – before his discomfort at the feeling of paint got too irritating.

“You should come,” he blurted out, partially out of desperation to start a conversation, and partially because he’d been wanting to ask all day. “Out with us, I mean. It’ll be fun.”

Nico didn’t respond for so long that Will cracked one of his eyes open to try and gauge his reaction. He was looking away, at the paint palette, focusing on covering one of the brushes with paint, so it was useless. Will was about to take the offer back out of panic when Nico turned towards him, and he immediately squeezed his eyes shut again. The brief image of the other boy, his face arranged in the mild, emotionless expression he was used to, stayed burned onto his eyelids.

“That’s okay,” Nico said, his tone careful. “I’d rather stay in.”

Will bit his tongue to stop himself insisting. _If he would rather stay on his own, that was fine._ He couldn’t force the other boy to spend time with him.

He could, however, enjoy this time he had now.

“No problem,” he said, keeping his own voice level. His mind flailed wildly for another topic of conversation. “How- uh- what-“ he paused to mentally collect himself. “So, you like Halloween, huh?”

It didn’t come out quite as smooth as he’d wanted, but Nico didn’t comment on that. “I, uh, don’t _dislike_ it,” he said, his voice quiet with concentration. “I haven’t really celebrated it before, but-“

“You haven’t?” Will’s eyes flew open of their own accord. For a second, he was staring straight at Nico, and then the other boy averted his own gaze to the paint palette to unnecessarily re-coat the brush. “Sorry,” said Will quickly, closing his eyes again. “I just- you _haven’t_?”

There was a beat. “No,” said Nico, his voice a little uncertain. “I don’t… I don’t think I did, I don’t remember it.”

Oh. _Oh. _

Will mentally cursed himself. _Of _course_ Nico wouldn’t remember celebrating Halloween. _He didn’t even remembering celebrating his own _birthday_. And somehow, Will didn’t think the boy stopped for trick or treating while he was living homeless away from Camp. 

“Sorry,” he said, guilt leaking into his voice. “Sorry, I didn’t- I didn’t think-“

“It’s fine,” said Nico smoothly. “It’s not a- it’s fine. I don’t… think they celebrate Halloween in Italy anyway. At least… not until recently.”

They fell into silence again. This time, Will didn’t bother trying to talk again – he was clearly awful at it – and instead resigned himself to the silence. Also, to the tickling of the paintbrush on his face.

So he was more than surprise when Nico was the one to finally break it.

“I did kind of celebrate once in, um, boarding school,” he said awkwardly. Will stayed silent. “Not much, because, y’know, military school, but we were aloud to stay up a bit later and eat a lot of sweets, so… yeah.”

Will waited a few seconds to make sure Nico had actually stopped talking, and then a few more to make sure he didn’t sound like an idiot. He hadn’t actually know Nico had gone to a military school, but he decided not to address that. “The candy is the best part of Halloween,” he said, lightly. “Really, it’s the only good tradition.”

“I don’t think the costumes are that bad,” hummed Nico gently in response, and the corner of Will’s lips twitched up.

“I already told you, I’m awful at the costumes,” he reminded the other boy. “I didn’t peg you as someone who’d be into them, either.” He tried to keep his tone light, praying it wouldn’t come off like an insult. The last thing Nico needed was to feel like he was being laughed at.

“I’m not that _into _them,” he amended, sounding a little embarrassed, but not like he thought he was being mocked. “I probably wouldn’t _wear_ one, but I think they look fun.”

“They are_ fun,_” he conceded. “I just suck at them, so it’s a lot of stress.”

“Maybe it’s ‘cause you’re trying to be too scary?” Offered Nico, humour tinging his voice, and the sound was almost nice enough for Will to miss his words.

“Are you saying I can’t look scary?” He asked, exaggerating his offence.

“I’m not- I’m just saying, you aren’t exactly a scary person-“

“I could be!”

“Sure.” Nico pressed two fingers to the other boys chin to tilt it up slightly to give him a better angle, and Will tried to ignore the jolt of electricity that ran through his body at the contact. “I’m just saying, maybe you’d be better coming up with… well, not-scary costumes.”

“I cannot believe that you don’t think I could be scary,” said Will, trying to keep his humorous tone even. “My own _friend_.”

“I’m just _saying_-“

“This is disgraceful-“

“_Gods_,” Nico snorted, and Will suppressed the flutter that rose in his chest at the sound. “Maybe you did inherit your dad’s confidence-“

“How _dare_ you?” Demanded Will, but his voice cracked in the middle, half a laugh escaping him.

Nico shushed him lightly. “I need you to stay still for this bit,” he said, still sounding amused.

“That’s cheating,” huffed Will. “This conversation isn’t over.”

He shut his mouth anyway, letting Nico do whatever he was doing. After a second, he cracked his eyes open slightly, peering through his lashes. The other boy had a look of concentration on his face, somewhat marred by the smile tugging at his mouth, nose crinkled up a little, his dark eyes staring intently at Will’s lips– _at the paintbrush._

Will quickly closed his eyes again, trying to silently force his heart rate to slow down. He mentally scolded himself – nothing was going to happen with Nico until the other boy indicated in anyway that it _could_. There was no use getting flustered over nothing.

Still, when Nico announced that he was done, Will almost wished he could keep his eyes shut for longer. He opened them anyway, taking in the other boy, who’d moved back to a more comfortable distance and was watching him almost nervously.

“There’s a mirror in the bathroom,” he supplied, uncertainly. “For you to look at it.”

“Great,” said Will, surprised by his own sudden disappointment, and he pushed himself up and towards the bathroom. Nico followed a safe few paces behind.

Will nearly did a double take when he saw his own reflection. “_Damn_,” he blurted, which wasn’t quite as elegant as he would’ve liked, but it worked. The base coat was a pale, eerie green, with the structure of a skull brought out in different shades as a 3d form. Black and dark green had been added in certain places to create the appearance of hollows in it.

“It’ll, uh, probably look better in the dark,” said Nico, and it was definitely nervousness in his voice.

“Better?” repeated Will, surprised, and then he pulled the black hood of his robes up to complete the affect and turned towards him. “Holy Styx – this is amazing.”

Nico looked pleasantly surprised, but quickly and visibly schooled his features back into a more neutral look. “I mean, you wanted it to be creepy-“

“You’re good at creepy. Maybe you _are _more scary than me.”

“Was that ever in question?”

Will ignored him. “Where did you learn to do this?” He asked, curiosity leaking into his voice. “I didn’t expect you to like this kind of stuff.”

Nico shrugged, and Will was pretty sure he didn’t imagine the tinge of pink that hit his cheeks. “I, uh, used to do a lot of painting at school. I was never that good at it, but I was better at that than the other subjects, because…” He trailed off, shoving his hands in his pockets. “It was just more fun than difficult. But I could paint some stuff, especially on skin. It wasn’t too hard.”

“You could paint _well._” Will got the feeling that they were entering more dangerous territory, so he shifted it slightly. “The design-“

“It’s from a Mythomagic card,” Nico admitted immediately. “I figured it was suitably scary.”

“It is.” Will grinned at him, and after a second, Nico returned the gesture. It looked almost painful coming from him, but Will took it. “You know, you could come,” he said, wistfully thinking back to their first conversation. He was pretty sure of what response he’d get, but it was worth a try. “The invitation still exists.”

“I think I’d rather stay in tonight,” said Nico, gently. “But… thanks.”

“Alright.” Will knew not to push dead conversations. Sometimes. “In that case, I should-“

“Yeah- yeah, of course.”

Part of Will wanted to say or do more, but Nico had moved out of his way and he couldn’t think of anything on the spot, so instead he just smiled and made his way to the door. He hesitated half way across the door.

“Nico-“ he paused as the other boy looked over at him. “Thank you.”

Nico shrugged. “Don’t think about it,” he said dismissively, waving it off. “It’s no problem.”

Will got the feeling he was going to be thinking about it for way too long, but he didn’t say that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been debating whether or not to write a version of this from Nico's point of view, so... if you'd like to see that, lmk.


	14. Face Paint (Nico's pov)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, the only validation I needed for this idea was two people saying 'yes'. So, thanks to e_black and LadyBoy: Have Nico's pov for the last fic!

Nico tried to keep his hands steady as he opened the face paints. Offering to help Will with his costume had been a snap decision, and one he’d regretted immediately, especially when he’d noticed the other boy’s surprise, but then he’d agreed and Nico could hardly _back out. _That would be even _worse._

“I need you to make me look terrifying,” Will was saying, watching Nico. “It’s a matter of pride?”

“Pride?” Nico raised his eyebrow.

“Me and Lou Ellen have an ongoing competition over who can get the scariest costume,” Will explained, suddenly looking a bit awkward, and for a second Nico wondered if he was embarrassed. He doubted it, though – Will was never embarrassed, especially not around _him._ “Lou always cheats with the mist, though.”

“Ah,” said Nico, mildly. He didn’t say what he was actually thinking, which was that no amount of face paint would ever make Will look totally terrifying. It wasn’t the kind of things friends said, he reminded himself. At least, he was pretty sure it wasn’t. “I’ll do my best,” he said anyway.

He picked up one of the sponges, half to have something to do and half because he kind of wanted to get this over with, and coated it with paint. He held it carefully as he moved towards the other boy, and then faltered.

_Focus, _he reminded himself. _It’s just face paint. _But Will was watching him expectantly, his eyes bright blue, and the closeness-

“You might want to close your eyes,” he said, wincing internally at how flat his voice came out, but Will complied immediately looking unphased.

Nico focused on sponging the paint on, letting the silence drag on comfortably and trying to ignore the fact that his fingers were _millimetres_ from the other boys face.

“You should come,” Will blurted out suddenly, and it took all of Nico’s self-control not to flinch backwards, but Will kept his eyes closed, not noticing. “Out with us, I mean,” he added, as if Nico might’ve misunderstood. “It’ll fun.”

Nico busied himself with the paint palette. _It’ll be fun… _sure. For them on their own, maybe. But he barely knew Lou Ellen, and he had no idea who else was going to be there, but it was probable he didn’t know them, either-

He wasn’t selfish enough to force them to have to hang out with him just because Will was absurdly nice. Even the idea of turning up unannounced, of having Will declare that he was joining them, of the disappointment they’d feel- it made his stomach twist sharply.

Besides, he wasn’t a fan of going out in the dark, anyway.

He turned back to Will, the brush he was using now definitely oversaturated with paint, and tried not to think about the soft flutter he saw on the other boys face as he did so. _Focus._

“That’s okay. I’d… rather stay in,” he said, trying to keep his voice even and unassuming.

“No problem,” said Will, his tone it’s usual cheery one. He was quiet for about three seconds before he shifted in his seat and moved onto the next topic of conversation. “How- uh- what- _ha._” He paused for a second. Nico just had time to wonder if the paint was actually bothering him that much when he tried again. “So, you like Halloween, huh?”

His voice sounded surprisingly strained. _Was it really that awkward to have a conversation with me? _Nico wondered, before shoving the thought out of his head. _He_ was the one who was awkward in conversations. Of course it would be hard for Will – hadn’t Nico just shut down the last topic of conversation himself?

“I, uh, don’t dislike it,” he said, honestly, before realising that Will was probably asking because he’d offered to do _Halloween makeup _for him. _Dumb, dumb, he was dumb. _“I mean,” he hurried to add in, “I haven’t really celebrated it before, but-“

“You haven’t?” Will’s eyes flew open, and for a second their bright blue hue seemed to stare directly into Nico’s eyes, rooting him to the spot. Then he remembered himself and averted his own gaze quickly, pretending he needed to put more pain on the brush. “Sorry,” said Will, sounding genuinely apologetic, though Nico couldn’t tell why, and then he closed his eyes again. “I just- you _haven’t_?”

Nico was briefly thrown off. _Was it really that big of a deal? _“No. I don’t… I don’t think I did, I don’t remember it,” he admitted uncertainly, feeling a piercing pain go through his chest. _And here it comes – the realisation, the discomfort, the disgust- the remembrance of the fact that Nico wasn’t normal, that he was messed up-_

“Sorry,” said Will abruptly, guilt leaking into his voice, cutting through Nico’s panicking. “Sorry, I didn’t- I didn’t think-“

_He’s stressed out because he thinks he’s upset me,_ Nico realised with a jolt of surprise, and he his best to ignore the sudden butterflies in his stomach. “It’s fine,” he said as smoothly as he could manage. “It’s not a- uh. It’s fine. I don’t… think they celebrate Halloween in Italy anyway. At least… not until recently.”

This time, Will didn’t respond, his face looking uncertain. They lapsed into silence. After a while, Nico realised Will wasn’t going to break it – which meant one of two things. Either he had, in fact, realised what a freak Nico was and felt uncomfortable, _or_ he still felt bad for his earlier comment.

Nico wouldn’t have blamed him if it was the first option, but something in his gut suggested it was the second – maybe the fact that he knew Will well enough to know that guilting himself over this was something he’d do, or maybe it was wishful thinking. Either way, Nico felt the sudden urge to smooth the conversation over.

“I did kind of celebrate once in, um, boarding school,” he said, internally cringing at how awkward he sounded, but he pushed on. “Not much, because, y’know, military school, but we were aloud to stay up a bit later and eat a lot of sweets, so… yeah.”

He shifted uncertainly, glad that Will couldn’t see him, and after a couple seconds Will spoke again. “The candy is the best part of Halloween,” he said flippantly, like there’d never been an awkward moment there. “Really, it’s the only good tradition.”

“I don’t think the costumes are that bad,” said Nico gently, almost before he could stop himself. He saw Will’s lips twitch up a little, and he tried to ignore the flutter in his chest.

“I told you, I’m awful at costumes,” Will reminded him, amusement clear in his tone. “I didn’t peg you as someone who’d be into them, either.”

“I’m not that _into _them,” Nico amended, trying not to get too flustered. “I probably wouldn’t _wear _one, but I think they look fun.”

“They are fun,” conceded Will. “I just suck at them, so it’s a lot of stress.”

“Maybe it’s ‘cause you’re trying to be too scary?” Offered Nico, thinking about his earlier conclusion that it’s be hard to make Will look scary.

Will’s face twisted into one of mock offence. “Are you saying I can’t look scary?” He demanded.

Nico tried to keep his voice even. “I’m not- I’m just saying, you aren’t exactly a scary person-“

“I could be!” Will spluttered.

“Sure.” Nico resisted the urge to roll his eyes, before remembering Will couldn’t see him anyway. He reached over and used two fingers to tilt the other boy’s chin up to give him a better angle, ignoring the slight twitch that came from Will and his own heartrate picking up traitorously. “I’m just saying, maybe you’d be better off coming up with… well, not-scary costumes.”

“I cannot believe that you don’t think I could be scary,” said Will, his faux-angry tone still clear. “My own _friend-_“

“I’m just saying-“ Nico bit back a laugh.

“This is disgraceful-“

“_Gods_,” Nico snorted unintentionally, but he didn’t think about it. “Maybe you did inherit your dad’s confidence-“

“How _dare_ you?”

Nico bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself together, and shushed him gently. “I need you to stay still for this bit,” he said, unable to keep his amusement out of his voice.

“That’s cheating. This conversation isn’t over,” huffed Will, but he went quiet anyway. For a few seconds they stayed silent, Nico focusing on adding the details and trying to ignore how close he was to Will’s lips – _it’s fine friends see each other’s lips all the time there’s nothing weird about that – _and Will staying almost weirdly still.

Then Nico was done, and he moved back a little before announcing it to put space between them. “There’s a mirror in the bathroom,” he said when Will opened his eyes. “For you to look at it.”

“Great,” said Will, an emotion Nico couldn’t recognise on his face, and he quickly pushed himself up and made his way to the bathroom.

After a few seconds, Nico followed a few paces behind, stopping in the doorway.

“Damn,” said Will abruptly as soon as he saw himself in the mirror.

Nico’s stomach twisted – _was ‘damn’ good or bad?_ – he swallowed. “It’ll, uh, probably look better in the dark,” he said, trying to keep his tone even.

“Better?” Repeated Will, as if he couldn’t quite comprehend it, and he pulled his hood up smoothly to complete the look. “Holy Styx – this is amazing.”

Nico’s stomach seemed to soar at the compliment, but he tried not to look to overexcited by it. “I mean, you wanted it to be creepy-“

“You’re good at creepy,” Will insisted quickly, and Nico’s chest fluttered happily. “Maybe you _are_ more scary than me.”

Nico blinked. “Was that ever in question?”

“Where did you learn to do this?” Curiosity leaked into Will’s voice. “I didn’t expect you to like this kind of stuff.”

Nico tried to fight down the heat that rose to his cheeks and shrugged nonchalantly. “I, uh, used to do a lot of painting at school. I was never that good at it, but I was better at that than the other subjects, because-“ he trailed off, shoving his hands in his pockets. _Because it didn’t require him to remember anything. _“It was just more fun than difficult. But I could paint some stuff, especially on skin. It wasn’t too hard.”

“You could paint _well,_” said Will, before seeming to tactfully change topic. “The design-“

“It’s from a Mythomagic card,” Nico admitted immediately, relieved to stop talking about himself. He had no idea how to respond to compliments, especially coming from Will. He could picture the card in question – a water demon, occasionally seen in a black cloak – it had seemed fitting. “I figured it was suitably scary.”

“It is,” grinned Will, and after a second, Nico returned the gesture a little awkwardly. His cheeks ached at the action, but he ignored it. “You know, you could come,” Will offered again, his voice sounding almost hopeful. “The invitation still exists.”

Nico thought about everyone else who might be there. “I’d rather stay in tonight. But… thanks,” he said carefully – he was genuinely glad that Will _offered. _

“Alright,” said Will, agreeably. “In that case, I should-“

Nico’s mood seemed to plummet, but he tried not to show it. “Yeah- yeah, of course,” he said quickly, moving out of the way of the door. For a second, Will seemed to be having some kind of internal battle, and then he smiled and made his way to the door.

Half way there, he hesitated. “Nico-“ he paused while Nico turned to him. “Thank you.”

“Don’t think about it,” said Nico immediately, dismissively, shrugging. Inside, he was all over the place, but he tried to keep it together. “It’s no problem.”

_It was normal to want to spend time with your friends, _Nico reminded himself. _Totally normal. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, are people aware I have a tumblr? It's in my bio, but idk how often anyone checks that... anyway, if not, and you wanna talk to me outside of reviews (or tbh just want some high quality solangelo/pjo content reblogged to your dash) then check it out: it's @minty-ships!


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